Safeguarding the safeguarders: Improving access to supervision

I am hearing on the ground that school nurses are being asked to ‘park’ or ‘delay’ their critical safeguarding supervision due to pressures of work. Yet, these pressures are exactly why there is an even greater need for safeguarding supervision.

Safeguarding work is already challenging and emotional in normal circumstances but when times are tough and workloads risk being overwhelming it is essential that support, and supervision in particular, are in place. To suggest that the latter should be delayed when school nurses are dealing with continued layered complexities in children and young people seems ludicrous. Safeguarding supervision is an essential component to safe and effective practice.

Supervision ensures that the voice of the child remains central to the work school nurses carry out. It affords a space and time to reflect on their practice and to be challenged. It empowers school nurses to analyse cases, make decisions and plan actions, or not, confidently.