Social work employer standard 5: Ensuring appropriate supervision

The requirements for this standard are summarised below.

View the full details for this standard on the LGA website.

• Ensure that social work supervision is not treated as an isolated activity by incorporating it into the organisation’s social work accountability framework.
• Promote continuous learning and knowledge sharing through which social workers are encouraged to draw out learning points by reflecting on their own cases in light of the experiences of peers.
• Provide regular supervision training for social work supervisors.
• Assign explicit responsibility for the oversight of appropriate supervision and for issues that arise during supervision.
• Provide additional professional supervision by a registered social worker for practitioners whose line manager is not a social worker.
• Ensure that supervision takes place regularly and consistently.
• Make sure that supervision takes place at least weekly for the first six weeks of employment of a newly qualified social worker, at least fortnightly for the duration of the first six months, and a minimum of monthly supervision thereafter.
• Ensure that supervision sessions last at least an hour and a half of uninterrupted time.
• Monitor actual frequency and quality of supervision against clear statements about what is expected.

1. Decision making
2. Line management
3. Caseload management
4. Personal development