Mind-Your-Head.net
Supporting and Sustaining School Leaders
Reflective Supervision for School Leaders
Schools are complex organisations made up of many unique individuals with differing strengths and developmental needs. Every school serves the same purpose; to ensure members of its community learn, develop, progress and achieve great outcomes. At its best, school leadership is personally and professionally rewarding: the best job in the world.
At the same time, school leadership is becoming increasingly challenging at a time when stakeholders expect schools to do more and do it better with fewer resources. Meeting these demands is a never-ending and often thankless task. Recent reports show that school leaders suffer very high levels of stress (Teacher Wellbeing Index, 2023) with 40% of headteachers considering leaving the profession and fewer school leaders desiring the role (Greany et al, 2021 & 2022).
Reflective supervision supports school leaders by focusing on the needs of the whole person: how they cope, how they progress professionally and personally, and how effectively they perform the expectations of their role. Reflective supervision enables school leaders to be their best, sustain their efforts and reduce the likelihood of burnout. It ensures sustainable leadership as school leaders are far less likely to look for work elsewhere (Teacher Wellbeing Index, 2022).
The Reflective Supervision Process: What to Expect With Mind-Your-Head.net
Reflective Supervision is a well-established practice for supporting and sustaining staff and leaders in in other helping professionals.
Reflective Supervision is holistic in nature, with a focus on personal support (it is restorative), personal-professional development (it is formative), as well as professional expectations (it is normative).
Reflective Supervision is centred on the needs of the client (whether staff, students, or other stakeholders) by helping practitioners to enhance their clinical practice for professional effectiveness and thereby strengthen our individual schools and the wider profession.
Reflective Supervision is a form of coaching and mentoring that can be therapeutic (without being therapy) and evaluative (without being appraisal). It is a relational form of support that never loses sight of the work at hand or the needs of the person doing that work.
For school leaders that work with Mind Your Head, there are eight facets of our work together in our supervisory alliance. These are...
Consultation
The process of supervision always begins with a period of consultation to help each of us to find out more about the other. This helps us decide whether we can work together and, if so, to shape the supervision process to meet your needs.
Contracting
In the first session we will negotiate a way of working together that will form the basis of a supervision agreement. This will shape our supervisory alliance and will be revisited during each session to enable frank bi-directional feedback.
Tailored Provision
Based on your identified needs (e.g. novice or expert in role) the supervision process can focus on your stage of development towards role competency or your orientation towards thinking about working with others. It can combine elements of both.
Holistic Provision
Supervision is normative, formative and restorative to address the complexity of your work. Led by you, we will focus on your role effectiveness, your ongoing development, and how you are manage to resource and sustain health and wellbeing.
Relationally Oriented
Supervision sessions will be constructed to enable you to focus on those you work with, your actions with them, your relationships, your context, our supervision sessions, and the wider contexts that shape your work as a school leader.
Student Focused
The ultimate goal of supervision is no different to that of school leaders: making a difference for the children. Helping you to better cope with, learn about and perform your role - which is the focus of supervision - helps you to achieve that goal.
Honest Evaluation
Although supervision is not a form of appraisal, it does involve constant and frank evaluation of your work. This works both ways as you will be invited to reflect upon, evaluate and give feedback about the impact of supervision for you.
Beneficial Impact
Although supervision is not counselling or therapy, it does involve work that can have a therapeutic benefit for you. This comes about because the focus is upon you within the context of your work, helping your confidence in your practice.