Creating space to reflect

Information for forums on taking time out from their normal work to reflect on how the forum is doing and celebrate success.

As forums grow the workload can increase. Sometimes this can happen very quickly, and the forum can feel like they are just trying to keep up.  Forums also can find certain times challenging due to external activity outside of the forums control which demands increased amounts of time such as: 

• OFSTED and CQC inspections.
• Consultations within the local area.
• A large service redesign.
• Increased campaign activity in the area. 
• Restructuring in an organisation such as the ICB or Council.

There is a risk that forums become so busy in the activity of the forum that there is no time to reflect. It is really important that forums try to build in time to reflect on the work they have done. Through self-reflection, forums will be able to see where they are heading and resolve issues earlier rather than being in a constant state of ‘firefighting’.  Please also see the forum health check page. 

Building in time and space to reflect can support the forum steering group members to manage their wellbeing and create the room for open conversations. Reflection can help with the forum’s increased self-awareness, provide a greater sense of control and improve communication skills. Learning from experiences and identifying areas for improvement and forum growth. 

When reflecting on the forums work you might want to consider: 

• List – what went well during this period?  
• List – what have we learned?  
• Identify – what might we do differently?  
• Highlights – what is the key things you have achieved? 
• Values – what are the forums values and how have we evidenced them. 
• The team – what is working well and what areas could be improved. 
• Goals – what are the current goals of your forum and are you on track? What needs to be done?  
• Celebrate – it’s important to celebrate even what might feel like a small thing.  

As a forum you may want to set regular times in the year to do this. Some forums plan an annual away day to do this and invite the steering group, parent representatives, volunteers and staff. This may be something the steering group wants to consider when setting its annual budget and applying for the Department for Education participation grant. As a forum you may also want to consider if it would be beneficial to have an external facilitator so that everyone can be involved in the process of reflection.  

Do you have any thoughts about this page? Visit our How to feedback page to share them.

Looking for something else? You can find a full list of pages on our Parent carer forum handbook contents page.

Find more support for forums

Forum health check

Find out how to carry out a forum health check

Forum Health check 

Measuring impact with Data Orchard

Click here to watch this video on our YouTube channel

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Contact associates

Find out more about the associate programme

Contact Associates

Saying yes (and no): Choosing where to focus your forum’s energy

Find out how to prioritise and build capacity in the forum

Saying yes (and no): Choosing where to focus your forum’s energy

Working in partnership

Find out more about the forums role in partnership working

Working in partnership

CiC wellbeing assistance

Find out about wellbeing support for forums

CIC Assistance Programme