ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the role of the unit manager specifically in relation to aspects of staff support and supervision. It argues that supervision is crucial to establishing, developing and maintaining high-quality residential child care environments. Supervision provides an educative vehicle through which practice can be informed and developed. A positive and supportive environment for supervision can have a direct impact in helping to create a supportive environment for young people. Managerial accountability can present difficulties within the supervisory relationship — it can dominate the process or, in contrast, be fudged and inadequately addressed. In order to perform the managerial role within supervision there needs to be clarity about the residential task and the individual and team roles and responsibilities in carrying out this task. The challenge for managers is to ensure that supervision is consistently provided, of high quality and is well planned.
