3.16 Joint Agency Group Supervision Procedure
Updated November 2024
1. Introduction
The relationship between core agencies in safeguarding vulnerable children is crucial in identifying the most effective support for children, young people and families and to promote best practice in delivering consistent interventions that bring about lasting change. Key to this is understanding each other’s perspectives and having time to reflect on the emotional impact of this work, both on individuals as well as the professional network. When done well, this provides an opportunity to support practitioners in the challenging work they undertake and can strengthen the community of practice around the child and their family.
2. Purpose of the Joint Agency Group Supervision
The purpose of joint agency group supervision (JAGS) across partner agencies is to provide a safe space to slow your thinking down and have the opportunity to reflect upon situations, which could feel complex or stuck. Additionally the approach supports professionals to work as a group to understand how they can most effectively work together to help children and families to Flourish.
Norfolk has committed to using Signs of Safety as its practice framework. Within this, there is a restorative commitment to children and families to include them in all meetings and ensure they are given full opportunity to understand concerns and make their own plans to safeguard their child/children before professionals impose theirs. The purpose of JAGS is not about sharing new information about a child/family, setting tasks or making case decisions outside of existing meetings and processes involving the child and family. JAGS offers a space for joint reflection, an opportunity to help strengthen the relationship between professionals who are working together with families to secure the best outcomes for children.
We should always be working transparently with children and families. However, this should not prevent professionals meeting for group supervision to reflect on the emotional content of their work/ the emotional impact on the professional network, how they are working together and what may be helping or hindering them in their work together. To be clear:
- The focus is on how professionals are feeling rather than planning or progress monitoring, which can be achieved through existing statutory meetings.
- JAGS does not replace any statutory operational processes, i.e. JAGS do not replace statutory/formal meetings such as Child In Need, Core Group and Child Protection Conference and Family Support meetings, which fully involve the family, including wider members, in decision-making and planning processes.
The JAGS facilitator will encourage the group to think about how they might support each other and what they might do differently to better work alongside the family to achieve their goals for the child where this is required.
In the rare event of information being shared at a JAGS that raises serious concerns that a child, young person or their families are at immediate risk of harm, a Section 47 Strategy meeting should be convened to discuss the concerns and make a plan to keep the child safe.
Where discussion is required regarding disagreement between professionals on the course of action and intervention for a child, the Norfolk Safeguarding Children Partnership (NSCP) Resolving Professional Disagreements and Escalation Protocol should be utilised.
3. Joint Agency Group Supervision Procedure
Cases which are appropriate for joint supervision may be identified by:
- Practitioner/s working directly with the child, young person or family.
- Safeguarding supervisors who provide single agency supervision
- Team managers/assistant team managers who provide management oversight of cases.
- Child Protection case conference chairs/ Looked after Reviewing Officers
The case should be discussed by the accountable team manager/safeguarding supervisor and/or a sector specific safeguarding adviser and agreement reached that a request for a JAGS will be made.
All JAGS facilitators have had dedicated training and are clear about their roles and responsibilities, so that participants will have a consistent experience. They are supported by a JAGS facilitator network which is led by the NSCP’s Independent Chair of the Workforce Development Group. Only trained professionals signed up to the facilitator network will deliver JAGS through central administration.
JAGS requests and delivery follow clearly defined steps:
Step 1 - JAGS Request. Submit a request using this link: JAGS request form
Step 2 – Allocating a JAGS Facilitator: The NSCP Business Unit will contact the requesting professional (RP) with the name of the allocated JAGS facilitator in 1 – 2 working days. The NSCP Business Unit will aim to ensure that the facilitator is independent of the case unless there is a clear rationale or request for a specific facilitator.
Step 3 – Communication between Facilitator and Requesting Partner: The allocated JAGS facilitator will contact the agency requesting the JAGS in 2 – 5 working days for a discussion about the case, outcomes sought and any other avenues to explore. If a JAGS is confirmed, the facilitator will aim to arrange a date in 10 – 15 working days, or at a time that is mutually agreed and convenient for all parties. If a JAGS is not agreed and another avenue is required, e.g. case escalation using the Resolving Professional Disagreement policy or a 1-2-1 meeting, the JAGS facilitator will contact the NSCP Business Unit to record that the JAGS has been stepped down.
Step 4 – Arranging the JAGS: Once the date has been agreed, the requesting partner is responsible for setting up the meeting and inviting the participants, including the facilitator. Where necessary, the NSCP Business Unit can support with organising the JAGS, but this should be seen as an exception.
Step 5 - Feedback and Reflections: All JAGS facilitators will allow a minimum of five minutes at the end of the session to give participants time to reflect and feedback on the JAGS session using the MS Forms provided, including the themes agreed by the group. This will enable the NSCP Business Unit to monitor the quality and consistency of the JAGS process so the process can continue to improve.
Joint Supervision Feedback Tool
At the end of a JAGS, the facilitator will agree with the group whether further sessions are required and if so future dates will be confirmed with the group.
See also Appendix A – JAGS Flowchart below.
4. Recording the JAGS
JAGS are not a statutory meeting and are not intended to increase the workload or be overly bureaucratic, however, it is important that there is a record of the JAGS. The JAGS facilitator will provide a summary of issues and reflections at the end of each JAGS.
Minutes are not required, however, in agreement with the group, the facilitator will summarise 3 - 5 key themes at the end of each JAGS. All participants are required to (a) make a note of the summary themes in the child’s records and (b) make a note in the JAGS feedback form for NSCP monitoring purposes. Any next steps will be picked up in any statutory or operational meetings following the JAGS, but actions from a JAGS are by exception only.
If, through the undertaking of joint supervision, there are wider learning points identified by multiagency professionals, for example, trends within the locality or specific agency learning needs, these will be captured in the feedback forms and through the JAGS facilitator network meetings. Learning themes will be aggregated through evaluation and fed back to the NSCP’s Workforce Development Group.
5. Confidentiality
The parameters around confidentiality of the information shared will replicate those of the respective agencies’ governance around confidentiality and the sharing of information across agencies for the purposes of safeguarding children and young people in accordance with Working Together 2023.
A written record of the JAGS (as above) session should be placed on the child’s file, in line with each agency’s policies, professional standards and practice.
6. Other multi-agency supervision options
See Appendix B to sense check whether another type of supervision is more appropriate and to understand the differences between JAGS and other supervision offers.
Appendix A – Joint Agency Group Supervision Process Flowchart
Appendix B – Other Types of Multi-Agency Supervision
Infomercial – A Guide to Joint Agency Supervision (vimeo.com)
Joint Supervision Feedback Form