The Reflection and Action Learning Forum (RALF) : Full Report

This report will tell you about the work of the RALF Project – a project aimed at developing reflective work cultures and individual workers’ reflective capacity to positively impact on the practice of physical restraint and restrictive practice. The Promise Partnership awarded a grant for this 24-month project in the spring of 2023. RALF stands for Reflection and Action Learning Forum and the main aim of this project was to start a process of rolling out the forum more widely in Scotland. While the rollout was the primary focus of the project, the bulk of this report focuses on the impacts of RALF and related learning from the project. Online questionnaires, research diaries, and individual and focus group interviews with RALF participants were utilised to find out about their experiences of the project and their perceptions of its impacts. Respondents shared accounts of significant impacts on themselves and others, as well as on their organisations at the level of relationships and culture. This latter impact was reported to be a part of wider organisational efforts and not a sole factor in noted changes. Impacts on physical restraints were also found, including the way restraint and restrictive practice is thought about and spoken about, and in some cases, RALF was cited as contributing to a decrease in its use. Challenges were also cited, including the challenging nature of learning to facilitate sessions, as well as practical challenges at organisational level. Respondents identified some of the key ingredients that make RALF effective and what is required for its effective implementation. Key takeaways include the robust support required for feelings work, that some of the work can be understood as changing habits, and that how organisations communicate to their workers about RALF and about reflection more widely likely requires further attention in the endeavour to develop reflective cultures.