Experience and advice on how best to create and support high quality supervision was shared:

Strategy

• Not all co-ordinators are free to choose their first supervisors, but once the rollout progresses beyond the first line of supervisors, can take more control of this decision.
• Working through existing management structures is not as important as looking for people who are interested, willing and able.
• That frontline staff often make the best supervisors and when the course reaches the frontline staff then speed, enthusiasm and quality improves.
• Asking supervisors to support trainees from a library different from their own works well.
• Notifying trainees in advance that they will be supervisor’s limits choices for a co-ordinator, but can be useful for them to prepare the person for supervision as they go through the course.
• One way of ensuring quality supervision might be to buddy supervisors offline or online.
• The average number of trainees per supervisor is recommended at 4 or 5.

Quality

• Co-ordinators should consider doing a half-day session with their supervisors to discuss and practice the skills of supervision and mentoring.  Some suggestions for this session are available on www.branching-out.net
• Co-ordinators think that supervisors sometimes find it difficult to be fearless and challenge a trainee who is on the wrong track if there isn’t a culture of challenge, and if they are not well supported by a management team.
• Encouraging supervisors to intervene before the end of a module if the trainee is not on track is vital.
• An initial meeting between co-ordinator and supervisor is very helpful.   People in the group had used email and phone but found that a face-to-face meeting made a lot of difference
• Some trainees, supervisors and co-ordinators are using the work they do on Frontline in their portfolios towards ACLIP qualifications and for some NVQs.

Practical issues

• On the whole, co-ordinators recommend that supervisors set each trainee a deadline, and ideally that the trainee sets the deadline themselves, per module.
• Setting a deadline for Module 1 is the most important.
• Trainees are sometimes expecting to be timetabled and don’t ask for time themselves.  They need encouragement to say ‘I need 2 hours to this display this week’ instead of waiting to be told.
• Supervisors should encourage trainees to book time on public computers to do the course rather than attempt it at the issue or enquiry desk.  Headphones help to give them space and privacy!  It’s important that they are not interrupted.