Abstract:
INTRODUCTION: Reflective social work supervision is essential to professional development,
building resilience and client work. However, in child protection, supervision is preoccupied with
managing risk and meeting outcomes at the expense of analysis and critical reflection. Oranga
Tamariki (OT), the statutory child protection organisation in Aotearoa New Zealand, has recently
been scrutinised for poor supervisory practice. The authors worked alongside OT social work
supervisors and supervisees to explore ways to generate resilience, learning, self-awareness
and develop practices that support reflective capability and well-being in supervision.
METHODS: This article presents data from the pre/post online evaluation of an action research
intervention study with OT supervisors and supervisees. The aim of the online survey was to
measure participants’ supervision practices, and the extent to which perceptions of confidence,
reflection, professional learning and resilience improved.
FINDINGS: The findings are reported from key areas within OT supervision: the frequency
of supervision sessions, the functions of supervision, engagement in reflection, supervisionchanging
practice, resilience and longevity in social work careers and the supervision of
supervisors.
CONCLUSIONS: The results from the survey showed social workers had increased confidence
as they built reflective capacity, resiliency and improved their supervision practice. The study
identified the importance of developing learning spaces that enhance reflective supervision for
supervisors and supervisees in child protection.