Reflective Practice Coaching for SIOs, managers and supervisors, 5 March and 12 June 2025, Thame, Oxfordshire, UK

 

• Two separate dates for our exclusive coaching session that provides coaching in a small group for SIOs, managers and supervisors around how to conduct Reflective Practice techniques. The group will be no more than 15 delegates.

 

• Reflective Practice is well-established in the business world and is now being used in policing as an integral part of professional practice to support managers and supervisors to make better decisions, improve performance, ensure they continue to develop and grow in their role and manage stress and well-being.

 

• Reflective Practice is a structured process that provides a template for investigators to use to reflect on their performance in the operational environment that culminates in a personal Action Plan.

 

• It acknowledges that the role of the SIO, manager and supervisor is complex and challenging. The environment requires effective, agile thinking around managing risk and dynamic decision making and that by conducting regular Reflective Practice, investigators can learn lessons and work to improve future performance.

 

• Central to this approach is the Gibbs Reflective Cycle which is a framework that can be used by investigators to carry out structured Reflective Practice.

 

The six stages in the Gibbs Reflective Cycle that investigators need to work through are:

• Description: What happened? Who was involved? How did you respond? 

• Feelings: What were your thoughts and feelings at each stage of the experience?

• Evaluation: What was positive and negative about the experience? 

• Analysis: What sense can you make of the situation? Why was something a strength or weakness? 

• Conclusion: What else could you have done differently? What can be learned from this experience? 

• Action plan: If it arose again, what would you do? 

 

Course content

Session One: An introduction to Reflective Practice, its benefits for SIOs, managers and supervisors and the important role it now plays in the criminal investigation world.

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Session Two: How to conduct effective Reflective Practice using the Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle:

We’ll take you through the theory behind the Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle and outline how to use it to carry out your own formal Reflective Practice. This will involve providing templates and a workbook to use to carry out your Reflective Practice activity in a formal and constructive way.  

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Session Three: Case studies to put the theory into practice

Our expert coaches Matt Bonner and Stuart Blaik, who are both experienced former SIOs will discuss some of their past cases studies and explain how they used Reflective Practice to evaluate their performance and implement key learning into future activity.

 

Session Four: Practical application: Delegates will split into small groups, work through a Reflective Practice exercise and feedback to the group to discuss key findings and learning.  We’ll end by discussing next steps and opportunities for follow-up input and support.

 

Our expert coaches

Matt Bonner

As a Senior Investigating Officer, Matt led several high-profile investigations conducted by the Met Police during his time with the Homicide and Serious Crime Command with direct responsibility for ensuring that complex investigations were conducted in the proper manner and ultimately being accountable for the success of an investigation. 

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During this period, Matt had to establish reliable methods for approaching complex decision making often based on incomplete information and started to recognise the importance of developing a systematic approach and the importance of reflecting on past performance. 

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Having completed his policing career, he continues to share his knowledge and experience as a trainer nationally both within policing at the College of Policing and to wider audiences. 

 

Stuart Blaik

Stuart enjoyed a distinguished career in policing, culminating in a senior management role until his retirement in 2023. With over three decades of service, he specialised in the Firearms Command as an Operational Firearms Commander and Instructor, where his decisions often carried life-or-death implications. In his final seven years, Stuart led high-profile investigations into homicide, kidnapping, extortion, and other serious crimes.

Stuart's career has rigorously tested his decision-making abilities, which he now applies in a variety of settings including policing, business and sport. He brings a wealth of practical experience to his sessions, delivering insightful and thought-provoking approaches to decision-making and reflective practice. 

 

Course notes and handouts

Delegates will be provided with full course notes and handouts including the relevant templates they can use to conduct future Reflective Practice exercises.

 

Course numbers: Maximum 15 delegates per course. We are restricting delegate numbers to ensure you get maximum coaching time with our experts who are both highly experienced and well regarded SIOs.

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HOW TO BOOK

Cost: £495 + VAT (GBP) per delegate per day

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Group bookings: We offer various discounts for group bookings depending on numbers, please contact us for details.

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Booking: Please send the delegates name(s), email address(es) and purchase order (made out to The Investigator) to booking@the-investigator.co.uk or telephone +44(0)844 660 8707 for further information. 

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Hotel rooms: We can arrange hotel rooms for you, please contact us for further detail.

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Payment can be made by PayPal/debit/credit card (corporate card fees apply + 3%). ​The meeting link will be sent out 7 days before the event.