Supervisor and Tutor Training

Issue Date: May 2016

Review Date: May 2017

Owner: QUeST

Contents

1. Introduction

2. Roles and responsibilities of a Supervisor/Tutor

2.1 Role of a Supervisor – summary

2.2 Role of a Tutor – summary

2.3 Personal Development

2.4 Governance

3. What you should know and be able to do before coming on the course (pre-course competencies)

3.1 Breastfeeding support specific skills and knowledge requirements

3.2 Tutoring and Supervising specific skills and knowledge

3.3Administrative skills and knowledge

4. What will I be able to do when I have completed the course? (learning outcomes)

Application Form

Reflective template to provide evidence of teaching PPAA

Template to provide evidence of teaching ‘knowledge’

Reflective Template to provide evidence of supervision

Appendices:

Appendix 1 Roles and Responsibilities for Supervisors within The Breastfeeding Network

Appendix 2 Roles and responsibilities for Tutors within the Breastfeeding Network

Appendix 3 BfN Supervisors/Tutors training 2016/2017 format

Appendix 4 National Qualifications Framework (NQF) Level Criteria

Appendix 5Reflective writing (an introduction)

1. Introduction

The Breastfeeding Network (BfN) aims to be an independent source of support and information for breastfeeding women and others.

The Breastfeeding Network is a recognised Scottish Charity (SC027007) and a Company Limited by Guarantee Registered in Scotland Company No. 330639 Registered office Alexander Sloan, Chartered Accountants, 38 Cadogan Street, Glasgow, G2 7HF.

It aims to:

Promote breastfeeding and a greater understanding of breastfeeding in the United Kingdom.
Collect and disseminate information on breastfeeding and baby and infant nutrition.
Provide information and support to parents on the feeding of babies and infants.
Set and encourage the acceptance of quality standards for breastfeeding support.
Establish and publish codes of practice for such support.

We do not accept funding from sources which have a commercial interest in infant feeding. For example, we will not accept sponsorship from manufacturers or distributors of breastmilk substitutes, feeding bottles, teats or dummies.

The Breastfeeding Network has developed training opportunities which aim to be open to mothers of all ages from many communities; to enable them to widen their knowledge, skills and experience to support breastfeeding within their communities.

Helper training

The Helper training course is the first stage of training for volunteers. It consists of 12 sessions to complete the two modules, ‘Peer support for breastfeeding mothers’ and ‘Skills to support the breastfeeding mother’ to qualify as 6 units at level 2 OCN accreditation. The Helper course assessed Learner Assessment Log is completed in a variety of ways to suit different learning styles.

Supporter training

Breastfeeding Supporter training, assessed at Level 3 OCN accreditation, is open to Breastfeeding Helpers with sufficient breastfeeding experience. All aspects of training introduced in the breastfeeding ‘Helpers’ course are covered in more depth. Supporter training serves to develop the skills of breastfeeding supportto enable the trainee to support in more complex situations and to work with more autonomy.

The trainee may apply to complete online or face to face training, which further develops essential skills to be able to qualify as a Helpline Supporter and respond to callers on The National Breastfeeding Helpline (NBH). The trainee may also go on to complete the full Supporter training course and can register as a BfN Breastfeeding Supporter.

Newly registered BfN Supporters then complete a probationary period working closely with their supervisor. After the probationary period, supporters are required to receive continued supervision and on-going training to maintain the quality of their work.

Internal Moderation is the process by which BfN regularly and systematically samples and evaluates its assessment practices and decisions, and acts on the findings to ensure consistency and fairness.

2. Roles and responsibilities of a Supervisor/Tutor

2.1 Role of a Supervisor – summary

Supervisors are responsible for the delivery, coordination and administration of supervision sessions for supervisees.

Please read Appendix 1, ‘Roles and Responsibilities for Supervisors within the Breastfeeding Network’.

2.2 Role of a Tutor – summary

Tutors are responsible for the delivery, coordination and administration of BfN peer support training.

Please read Appendix 2, ‘Roles and Responsibilities for tutors within the Breastfeeding Network’.

2.3 Personal Development

Supervisor/Tutors are responsible for:

Fulfilling annual registration requirements including accessing supervision specific to tutoring and supervising roles.
Attending annual Supervisor & Tutor study events. If extenuating circumstances prevent this, it is the supervisor/tutor’s responsibility to seek supervision and make appropriate alternative arrangements.

2.4 Governance

Supervisor/Tutorshave a responsibility to be up to date with all BfN policies and guidelines as published on the BfN website:

3. What you should know and be able to do before coming on the course(pre-course competencies)

Pre-course competencies are based on:

Breastfeeding support specific skills and knowledge, i.e. knowledge and skills in relation to breastfeeding within a BfN work context (paid or unpaid).
Tutoring specific skills and knowledge, i.e. knowledge and skills in relation to teaching either in a breastfeeding or other context.
Administrative skills and knowledge
Supervision specific skills and knowledge, i.e. knowledge and skills in relation to supervision of peer supporters.

The entry requirements should be based on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The subject specific skills and knowledge should be based on the level 3 of the NQF (i.e. Supporter level). The teaching specific skills and knowledge requirements should be at level 2 criteria.

3.1 Breastfeeding support specific skills and knowledge requirements

All applicants must:

Be currently qualified as a full Supporter with the Breastfeeding Network (BfN) with at least 12 months of active volunteering before the start of the course.
Be up to date with supervision requirements at the time of application and have evidence of on-going learningsince BfN qualification.
A minimum of 26 calls/webchats experience.

Skills and Knowledge (at level 3 National Qualifications Framework):

A wide range of knowledge and skills in providing information and support to breastfeeding mothers across a variety of settings acquired while working for the BfN in a paid and/or volunteer capacity.

Essential:

Experience of supporting individual mothers
Experience of supporting mothers with breastfeeding on NBH/Supporterline
Knowledge of the evidence base for breastfeeding
Knowledge of BfN, its philosophy, policies and procedures (to be found on the website)
An awareness and understanding of supporting equality and valuing diversity within the role
An awareness of boundaries of practising as a Supporter
A commitment to accessing and using supervision effectively

Desirable:

Experience of supporting mothers as a group or as an individual within the setting of a breastfeeding support group, in home and/or hospital setting
Experience of working with diverse groups (social/ethnic)
Knowledge of how breastfeeding can help address inequalities

3.2 Tutoringand Supervising specific skills and knowledge

All applicants must have the following:

Evidence of having been educated to a minimum of level 2 in English language (equivalent to GCSE standard)
Basic level skills at Maths and IT

3.3Administrative skills and knowledge

All applicants must have the following:

written and oral communication skills for a variety of audiences, including presentation skills and the ability to communicate complex ideas clearly and simply
interpersonal skills, including the ability to work with different people at different levels, sensitivity to different perspectives, negotiating skills and the ability to work as part of a team
organisational and budget skills
prioritisation and time management skills, ability to meet deadlines
IT skills (Word, Excel, email & internet) with access to internet and member of BfN email lists
resilience and ability to work under pressure
capacity to work flexibly (some evening and weekend work will be required)
capacity to travel frequently within the local area and sometimes further afield to attend residential seminars, conferences and training

4. What will I be able to do when I have completed the course? (learning outcomes)

The post-course competencies/learning outcomes for teaching will be based on the level 3/4 criteria of the National Qualifications Framework (see Appendix 4).

By the end of the course you will be able to:

LEARNING OUTCOMES
The learner will:
1. Understand her own role, responsibilities and boundaries of role in relation to teaching
2. Understand appropriate teaching and learning approaches in training breastfeeding peer supporters.
3. Demonstrate session planning skills.
4. Understand how to deliver inclusive sessions which motivatelearners.
5. Understand the use of different assessment methods and the need for record keeping.
6. Understand the importance of supervision and how to deliver it effectively

These learning outcomes will be assessed by means of assessment criteria, which will follow later.

Application Form

To be completed by BfN Supporter wishing to train as BfN Supervisor and Tutor

(This application form was designed to be completed on a PC. If you decide to print it off, please leave plenty of space between the questions for your handwritten entries and ensure that your writing is legible)

PERSONAL DETAILS
Name
Address
Postcode
Phone Number / Mobile Number
Email address
Date qualified as Probationary Breastfeeding Supporter
Date qualified as Full Breastfeeding Supporter (applicants must be a full Supporter to be able to apply for the Tutor course)
Please read the statements below and tick to confirm you have read and understood
Section 2. Roles and Responsibilities of Supervisor/Tutor
Section 3. What you should know and be able to do before coming on the course
Appendix 1 Roles and Responsibilities for Supervisors within the Breastfeeding Network
Appendix 2 Roles and Responsibilities for Tutors within the Breastfeeding Network

Please complete the following questions to tell us more about your experience. It is expected that you will have a working experience that covers 12 months to include a minimum of 12 active sessions speaking and working with mothers directly

Current voluntary commitment as a BfN Supporter (including telephone support, home visits, drop-in groups etc.)

Please give details of any breastfeeding support/education you offer in a paid capacity

If you have supported women with breastfeeding with any other organisation please give details:

If you have previous experience teaching or training in another organisation please give details:

Tutor training consists of four days of face-to-face training plus on-line training and a similar amount of self-directed study/coursework* (see Appendix 3) Tutoring and supervising are on-going commitments. Please consider how this fits in with any other paid/unpaid work that you have (word guide 100 words)

In order for us to gain an insight into the training experiences and learning needs of applicants, we ask you to write 3 pieces of reflection of approximately 500 words each. These should be based on experiences you have had as a Supporter of the following:

Teaching an individual or a group how to do positioning and attachment (skill based teaching).
Teaching an individual or a group knowledge of one of the following topics: effects of introducing formula, introducing solid foods, caring for your baby at night (bed sharing) or the difference between breastmilk and infant formula (knowledge based teaching).
Providing an element of supervision to a Helper

Some guidance on reflective writing has been provided in Appendix 5 Templates for completing this reflective writing are provided on the following pages. Suggested questions to guide in your reflections have been provided within the template. Not all questions need to be answered, as they are for guidance purposes only. Word counts have been indicated for each section. These are not prescriptive but are provided as guidance, as long as there is a balance between the What, So What and Now What sections.

Reflective template to provide evidence of teaching PPAA

What?This is the ‘who, where, when and what’ of reflection. What happened during the experience? This is mainly descriptive, as you’re not asking yourself why things happened. What were your feelings during the event? (approx. 150 words)
So what?In this section you are asked to analyse and make sense of what happened. Why do you think things went the way they did? Why did you do things in a certain way? What informed your decision making? What went well, what do you think could have been done better? Why do you think things went well or could have gone better? (approx. 250 words)
Now what?What conclusions can you draw from this event? Based on your reflections on this experience, what skills and knowledge do you feel you need to develop (in relation to developing your skills and knowledge to be able to teach breastfeeding mums to become Helpers/Supporters)? (approx. 100 words)

Template to provide evidence of teaching ‘knowledge’

What?This is the ‘who, where, when and what’ of reflection. What happened during the experience? This is mainly descriptive, as you’re not asking yourself why things happened. What were your feelings during the event? (approx. 150 words)
So what?In this section you are asked to analyse and make sense of what happened. Why do you think things went the way they did? Why did you do things in a certain way? What informed your decision making? What went well, what do you think could have been done better? Why do you think things went well or could have gone better? (approx. 250 words)
Now what? What conclusions can you draw from this event? Based on your reflections on this experience, what skills and knowledge do you feel you need to develop (in relation to developing your skills and knowledge to be able to teach breastfeeding mums to become Helpers/Supporters)? (approx. 100 words)

Reflective Template to provide evidence of supervision

Once you have completed the 3 items of reflective writing, please ensure that you have completed all other sections, before signing below.

Signed……………………………………………….Date……………………………………

Now that you have completed this application, please send onlythe pages containing your application to your Supervisor who will complete her supporting statement and send it off to the Supervisor/Tutor Trainers at the following email address:

To be completed by the Supervisor of BfN Supporter applying to train as a BfN Supervisor and Tutor

Please return to supervisor/tutortraining team

Name of Supporter
Name of Supervisor:
The above supporter has discussed with me her intention to apply to train as a supervisor and tutor.
Date:
Please complete the details below for last year
She has completed her annual return for last year. Yes/No
She has fulfilled her supervisory requirements (6 in last year):
Dates
Additional:
She has completed her on-going learning requirements (2 days in last year or equivalent)
Dates
I have discussed the commitment required and the responsibilities involved in being a Supervisor/Tutor with ______and I support her application.
I will undertake to act as mentor for ______through to the end of her probationary period, or to ensure that another Supervisor/Tutor does so.
Before the first training day, I will assess her skills in helping a mother to effectively position and attach a baby as in the Helpers OCN workbook
Any other comments:
Supervisor’s Signature:
Date:

Appendices:

Appendix 1Roles and Responsibilities for Supervisors withinThe Breastfeeding Network

Breastfeeding Network has a long history of valuing supervision and the development of the Roles and Responsibilities for Supervisors builds on this.

Defining Supervision:

The primary aim of supervision is to protect the best interest of the mothers and babies that our registered Helpers and Supporters work with to ensure that they receive the best possible service in accordance with BfN policies and procedures.

Supervision enables the ongoing evaluation of the work of Helpers and Supporters to ensure risks to mothers and babies are eliminated or at least minimised. Supervision provides a time and space for Helpers and Supporters to:

Reflect on their work with the insight of their supervisor
Enable them to make greater sense of difficult and complex supporting situations
Gain more clarity about their work going forward.

It provides an opportunity to receive both practical and emotional support: practical support in the form of ideas and suggestions, and emotional support in the sense of sharing issues and when appropriate reassurance.

Supervision is a place where ongoing learning and professional development can be planned and monitored.

It is also a means of ensuring that the BfN ethos and policies are implemented thus enabling a standardised quality service to be available to all service users.

Your responsibilities as a BfN Supervisor:

Helpers need to attend four group supervision sessions every six months in order to be re-registered.

You are responsible for organising monthly group supervision sessions for your Helper supervisees, with the details ideally circulated 3 months in advance.

In exceptional circumstances, such as where you supervise a group of Helpers at a distance of more than an hour’s travel away, you may organise a maximum of three alternative supervision sessions every 6 months. These may include