The MCiB has for some time been exploring the possibilities of utilising Group Supervision to support the already established excellent 1-1 Reflective Supervision in place.
The Supervision Reference Group (SRG) has reflected on the best approach to this exploration and it is possible to confirm some preliminary steps have now been taken.
The following detail provides some background to the choices made:
Group Supervision is a possibility mentioned in the report to the 2021 conference and subsequent finalised policy. It is recommended for 2 tasks primarily:
- Supervision of supervision (SoS)
- Supervision of part time lay workers offering less than 15 hours
The church has a well-established Supervision of Supervision course based on excellent 1-1 supervision and therefore Group Supervision is unlikely, in the short term, to be utilised for this purpose.
Lay workers should have been absorbed into District Supervision Implementation Plans incrementally since 2022 and ultimately all roles of varied working hours by 2024.
Whilst many districts have worked hard around this task some alternative routes have been taken to support Lay Workers in certain roles :
- The offering of reflective line management
- Some pilot groups in place owing to the learning of Diploma students
After careful consideration then the SRG has approved the creation of a pilot programme of Group Supervision training which will cover 12 group Supervisor trainees, who will between them be able to cover 72 lay workers within practice groups as they learn.
In overview our new course for Group Supervisors
- consists of a residential teaching week and 5 follow up online modules (Afternoon/evening sessions to suit the group)
- It will cover extensive learning about the theory of group work alongside supported practice.
- It will also include the need for extensive practice in a local setting and background reading.
- Participants must be experienced supervisors under the Methodist Policy and able to commit to this kind of work for 3 years post-course.
- Each participant will need to build a group of supervisees to practice with and accompany locally and then reflect on their learning amongst their peers. They will need to be committed to the group they are working with for at least 2 years.
- Progress will be assessed through a “viva style” consultation
This work will be led by three Diploma Qualified Group Supervision practitioners who bring their skills and expertise to the course in the form of teaching, support and assessment. The findings from it will feed into the response to the research project and as a result the policy revision due at the 2027 Conference.
An advertisement flyer ( insert link) and a role outline with more detail about what is required (insert link) can be found here
If you have any questions then please do contact Jane Bingham (binghamj@methodistchurch.org.uk)