TY - JOUR
T1 - The power of relationship-based supervision in supporting social work retention
T2 - a case study from long-term ethnographic research in child protection
AU - Warwick, Lisa
AU - Beddoe, Liz
AU - Disney, Tom
AU - Ferguson, Harry
AU - Cooner, Tarsem Singh
PY - 2022/9/7
Y1 - 2022/9/7
N2 - Supervision is a core component of professional support and development in social work. In many settings, and perhaps particularly in children’s services, it is valued as crucial in safe decision-making, practice reflection, professional development and staff support. Research has demonstrated that supervision and staff support also contribute to social worker retention in child welfare services. Drawing on data gathered in a 15-month ethnographic, longitudinal study of child protection work that included observations of supervision, we were able to observe the impact of supportive supervisory relationships on social workers’ decision-making about staying in their current workplace. This article presents a single case that demonstrates the potential impact of effective relationship-based supervision on retention and calls for a more humane approach to social work supervision against dominant managerial themes that have increasingly burdened the profession.
AB - Supervision is a core component of professional support and development in social work. In many settings, and perhaps particularly in children’s services, it is valued as crucial in safe decision-making, practice reflection, professional development and staff support. Research has demonstrated that supervision and staff support also contribute to social worker retention in child welfare services. Drawing on data gathered in a 15-month ethnographic, longitudinal study of child protection work that included observations of supervision, we were able to observe the impact of supportive supervisory relationships on social workers’ decision-making about staying in their current workplace. This article presents a single case that demonstrates the potential impact of effective relationship-based supervision on retention and calls for a more humane approach to social work supervision against dominant managerial themes that have increasingly burdened the profession.
KW - Ethnography
KW - case study
KW - child protection
KW - organisational culture
KW - staff retention
KW - supervision
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85138343275&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/14733250221113015
DO - 10.1177/14733250221113015
M3 - Article
SN - 1473-3250
JO - Qualitative Social Work
JF - Qualitative Social Work
ER -