Take some time to think about your experiences with young people, families and communities.

We invite you to note this down in a book or online resource, which you can bring with you in September.

You may find the following structure useful:

What... describe what happened (use past tense). This helps you to develop your understanding. You may want to consider:

What was your experience?
What happened?
What did you particularly notice?
What worked well and what didn’t?
Who else was involved?
What did you do?

So what... analyse and sense-make (use present tense). This helps you to identify learning. You may want to consider:

How did you feel when it happened?
What might have been behind your response?
Was this event part of a broader pattern?
What caused this event?
Why might have other people acted the way they did?

Now what... are your effective next steps (use future tense). This helps you to think about your future actions. You may want to consider:

What lessons can you take forward in similar and other contexts?
How might you prevent negative outcomes or problems in a similar situation?
What would you do differently if a similar situation arose?
How might you better prepare and resource yourself for a similar situation?

This reflective activity is designed to support you with beginning to make the links between your practice (what you do) and your thoughts and values (why you do what you do).

This will help you when you move on to explore this through linking to youth & community work theory.