Expert Q&A: Inside the supervision room with Toby Cooper

In this Q&A, Supervisor, Toby Cooper, explains why professional supervision isn’t a luxury or an add-on, but a crucial protective space for the people running our schools. He explains how supervision “safeguards our safeguarders”, why it helps leaders make better decisions for pupils and staff, and how it can transform a school’s culture for the benefit of the whole community.

What first drew you into supervision — what inspired you to take on that role?

As a practicing dramatherapist, I have been in supervision my entire career as it’s a professional requirement to ensure safe practice in the face of high levels of relational and emotional workload. As a dramatherapist, I was predominantly working in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) education,  and could see school staff all around me carrying similar relational and emotional pressures but without the regular safe space to process them. I began informally supervising colleagues, including senior leaders, who were struggling to switch off or were distressed about particular issues, and that convinced me this support was needed far more widely, so I trained formally as a supervisor.

Supervision isn’t therapy or coaching — so how would you describe what supervision actually is?

Coaching usually focuses on performance and goals, and therapy is centred on the processing of a person’s lived experiences. Supervision is different: it’s a reflective, supportive space for the supervisee to attend to their wellbeing, whilst most importantly, holding the needs of the pupils in their care at the centre of their thinking at all times. A leader comes to supervision to support their practice, and when they do, their pupils reap the benefits too. It is a holistic, relational space that looks at the whole person in their professional context and within the wider system, be that local, national or global.

Walk us through a typical supervision session — what happens when a school leader or manager comes to you?

Supervision is essentially a structured conversation about someone’s experience of work. We log on, say hello and take a moment to arrive; where possible I encourage leaders to be off-site in a confidential space so they can think more objectively than in their office. We check in on what is happening at that moment in time and allow themes to emerge, such as safeguarding, communication, staff dynamics, boundaries or health. My role is not to provide answers, but to hold a space where supervisees can reflect and find their own way through the many uncertainties they navigate in the profession and sector.

What would you say to leaders who are reluctant to take time out of the school day to engage with supervision?

In the first instance, I invite them to treat it as an experiment, particularly if it’s a new experience. Many leaders feel they can’t leave the building or take time away from the job at hand,  thinking that maybe everything will fall apart in their absence, but then they try it and soon realise that the school is still standing when they return. That challenge and subsequent realisation shows that leadership doesn’t rest entirely on one person’s shoulders, and that handing responsibility to deputies or assistant heads – even one morning a month – is part of developing future leaders.

What would you say to those leaders who always want to put others’ wellbeing ahead of their own?

In supervision we often discover that leaders’ boundaries and self-care have quietly disappeared – people suddenly realise they have not had a lunch break all term, or never ask themselves how they are. Schools are teaching pupils to pause, reflect and regulate but good regulation is good for everyone, not just children.

Why is supervision especially important for school leaders, senior staff, and managers?

Head teachers and senior leaders can feel very lonely. They hold safeguarding information that no one else in school knows, they cannot always take difficult dilemmas to their senior team, governors, local authority or family without fear of judgement and rightly or wrongly, will often feel the pressure of the buck stopping with them.

Supervision offers them a confidential, non-judgemental space with an external professional, in a space where they can be honest about their concerns or worries, and explore them safely rather than carrying them alone.

What kinds of challenges or themes do school leaders typically bring into supervision?

Safeguarding comes up again and again; we talk about “safeguarding the safeguarders” – making sure the people holding risk are appropriately supported themselves. Communication is another major theme, as is the idea of managing multiple roles.

We have leaders moving rapidly between different situations: regulating a child, managing a staff disciplinary and responding to a parent, often without any pause. Leaders also bring staff dynamics, emotional overload, burnout, questions about what is and is not in their control, as well as issues around boundaries and physical health.

How does supervision ripple out to benefit pupils?

Supervision gives leaders time to pause, so they can shift from firefighting to reflective decision-making. When decisions are made from a calmer, more holistic place, they are more likely to be in pupils’ best interests. Pupils experience a more cohesive, consistent staff team and adults who are better regulated and more present in the classroom, which supports the quality and stability of the education they receive.

And what about the wider school community — how does supervision positively affect staff, colleagues, and the school culture?

When a head teacher makes space to reflect, they are more likely to build that into their senior leadership meetings and then into work with subject or phase leaders. This attitude filters down to classroom practice, where teachers feel more able to pause and reflect with pupils rather than react automatically, and schools that already promote the principles of mindfulness and regulation for children start to apply the same principles to adults.

Leaders are often scared of having difficult conversations with staff or even with students and parents – when they do have those conversations though, they often find they not as scary as they might think and can actually benefit working relationships in the future.

Finally, have there been any moments in your own work as a supervisor that really reminded you why you do this?

The moments that stay with me are often when experienced leaders who have been in the professional for 20+ years say, “I’ve never considered my own experience in this,” or, “I didn’t know there was space for me to reflect on my feelings.” It is powerful when someone says, “This has changed how I go about things – I do things differently now,” or, “The culture in our school has changed because I meet with you once a month.” Those comments show that a confidential, reflective space can lighten the load, protect people from becoming unwell and support healthier, more sustainable school communities.

It's the knowledge that when people have somewhere safe, external and non-judgemental to talk about the more challenging parts of their role, they carry less. That mental load is therefore less likely to turn into a physical one that takes them out of work. Seeing supervision contribute to a healthier workforce and a healthier school culture is exactly why I keep doing it, it’s a privilege to work alongside such committed, caring, brave leaders every day

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