‍

‍I can confirm the rumours are true…… Peer Reflection is coming back…… but with a few changes that will make it even better!

Those of you who have worked for Thrive Tribe for a while will remember our previous Peer Reflection programme that we set up during lockdown in 2020. The facilitators ran monthly groups across the services. This model worked well but we didn’t have enough facilitators to support all client facing Thrive Tribers…until now!

I am delighted to announce that due to a whole new cohort of facilitators being trained, we can now start a fresh with our new Peer Reflection programme!

A little reminder of what Peer Reflection is:

These are monthly sessions for all Thrive Tribe staff, run by a peer facilitator, and is a safe space to reflect on your work, share best practice, discuss and problem solve with the support of your peers and share great work that you do. It’s seen as an integral part of improving quality & personal development.

Those that haven’t experienced a peer reflection session before can expect a safe & confidential space to reflect on your work, your role, your clients to share and problem solve with your peers. We want it to be a protected period of time each month for everyone to feel supported & develop so that we can offer the best possible service to the people we work with. Facilitators sometimes come prepared with an activity for each session but please be assured that the time is yours and you can, as a group, choose to use that hour as you wish.

A little reminder of why we doing it and how you can get the most of out of your sessions:

• Peer Reflection is your safe space to share, reflect & support each other in a solution focussed way
• Peer Reflection can inform organisational change at all levels through feedback to relevant staff
• Peer Reflection is a place you can ask for advice on specific issues or challenges
• Peer Reflection enables a reflective thought process within staff which in the long term improves the services we provide & client outcomes
• Peer Reflection is one of many forums which support staff wellbeing
• Please do also share things you are proud of, that you have achieved and any positive outcomes
• Please come prepared & with a reflective and open mind and a experience you can share with the group
• Please participate as much as you feel you would like to
• Please support & respect each other and your facilitator by keeping on topic, not talking over each other & embracing the journey
• Please feel able to laugh or cry and anything in between!

Finally, these sessions are for you – they are only as good as the effort & contribution that you make. As facilitators, we steer the ship and hopefully get you to your destination relatively unscathed!

Most importantly, what’s new?

We are moving to a Thrive Tribe-wide facilitator model. This means that there is now a cohort of facilitators who will each work with a group that is made up of staff from across all services. Each client facing member of staff across Thrive Tribe has been allocated to a group with peers who do a similar role so that you can reflect, share and support one another from a place of understanding, compassion & empathy. For example, if you are a Health Coach, you will be in a group with other people who deliver 1-2-1 sessions. If you are an AWM practitioner, you will be with other group Practitioners. If you deliver the Healthier You programme you will be with other diabetes prevention practitioners.

When will sessions take place?

All groups will take place on a Thursday morning once per month. If you do not work Thursdays, you will be allocated to the Tuesday group. These groups should accommodate everyone but if we have missed you please do get in touch with me, Katie [email protected]

What next?

Your new facilitator will be in touch directly with you to introduce themselves, send MS Teams links and calendar invites.

Our Peer Reflection programme is a valuable & integral part of life at Thrive Tribe. Thrive Tribe are committed to this being protected time for all staff and Line Managers will ensure everyone is enabled to attend.

As someone who has championed Peer Reflection from day one, I would encourage you all to attend and participate in these new groups. It will of course take time for you to get to know each other, your facilitator and to get to a place where you are comfortable to share and be vulnerable at times (if you choose to do so). It will also take time to firmly embed this again into our culture at Thrive Tribe. There may be times when you are unable to attend a session due to annual leave, sickness or other legitimate reasons, but there is an expectation for everyone to attend every month.

Whether you are new or established in your role for a while, you will have so much to offer at these sessions. This may be as someone who wants to share or as someone who is able to listen, offer advice, empathise or draw on their own experiences to help others.

Let’s get Peer Reflection back on the map!!

Any questions about Peer Reflection, please do get in touch!