Last week Charlee – Strategy Manager joined colleagues from across West Yorkshire, and further afield to explore what trauma informed Staff Experience and Workforce Practices might look like.  The day hosted by West Yorkshire ICB and Spectrum Community Health CIC, continues the work of the WY Adversity, Trauma and Resilience working group, which has supported the wider adoption of a trauma informed (TI) approach.  Focusing on staff , the day explored how do employers implement a TI approach to supporting and managing staff.   Do polices ranging form recruitment and selection to leave and access to supervision reflect a TI approach?

How does the youth work sector reflect a TI approach? Do youth work practitioners have access to regular,  rigorous and appropriate supervision – managerial, developmental or clinical?  If you are managing case load, or supporting safeguarding or child protection cases, should you have the same clinical supervision as social work or councillors?   Do managers feel able to offer developmental supervision, or only managerial supervision as time and resources are limited?  Do we reflect this need in our commissioning and funding?  As a sector have we forgotten the value and skill of developmental supervision?  I don’t think so, and this weeks conference in Leeds, will I hope, prove that.