SUPERVISIONS

What are supervisions? Are they important?

It’s that time again! Supervisions! Your staff probably see them as an inconvenience, a manager may find them time consuming and struggle to fit them in around holidays, sickness, snack times, handovers etc.…

So… What is a supervision?

The Early Years Foundation Stage Framework states that “Providers must put appropriate arrangements in place for the supervision of staff who have contact with children and families.” (EYFS – 2017 updated 2018)

A supervision enables regular contact between a team member and their manager to check progress, prioritise tasks, check individual children are being supported appropriately, provide and seek guidance and support and identify areas for improvement. Supervisions can often be confused with appraisals. An appraisal is a more formal process. It involves reviewing a practitioner’s performance over a period of time, then looking forward and reviewing set objectives, job description, strengths and areas for improvement and identifying how training needs will be met.

Are supervisions important?

As a consultant, supervisions of staff will inevitably be the first task when entering a setting. This enables us to gauge the level of support that is needed and allows us to highlight areas within a nursery that are successful and areas that need improvement.

Before supervisions take place, we carry out observations of the staff and the daily running of the setting. A meeting is then arranged to give feedback to the staff and to discuss their key children and their development. From this we can then create a realistic, practical action plan for the setting and targets for the individual.

Therefore, in answer to the question “Are supervisions important?”. Yes, they are! Staff are paramount in nurturing and developing young learners. They are at the forefront in allowing the children in their care to challenge, achieve and grow.

DWM consultants can help any setting with their supervisions and appraisals. Please get in touch if you want to discuss this further.

www.earlyyearsconsultants.co.uk
info@earlyyearsconsultants.co.uk
020 3875 4443