Supervision for children’s wellbeing

Incorporating child-focused, parent sensitive supervision into organisational practice is essential for supporting the mental health and wellbeing outcomes of infants and children. Supervisors play a critical role in ensuring that the needs of infants and children are considered in practice, including within adult-focused services.

Supervisors can positively influence the physical, social, emotional and developmental worlds of infants and children by encouraging and supporting practitioners to have effective conversations with parent/carer clients about their children’s needs. Even in situations where children are not physically present, supervisors can guide practitioners in listening to and understanding the worries a parent will have for their child, considering the child’s experiences and integrating their needs into the service focus.

Incorporating child-focused supervision into organisational practice ensures children’s experiences and needs are understood, and the mental health and wellbeing of infants and children is at the forefront of engagement and quality improvement of service delivery.

The following Emerging Minds resources will support practice leaders and supervisors to consider and apply supervision strategies that promote child-aware approaches.