I will use Rolfe et al.’s (2001) reflective model to evaluate my professional development, focusing on three core Social Care Wales (SCW)  outcomes: critical analysis in assessment, effective collaboration, and exercising judgment in complex situations.

Reflection has highlighted my strengths and identified areas for development as a new social worker. Rolfe et al.’s model, together with supervision and research, underpins my approach to identifying my priority learning needs for the year ahead, aligned with key SCW outcomes.

In my current role within the Targeted Support Team, I was allocated a number of families Part 4 Care and Support plans. These plans were often prescriptive, focusing heavily on professional recommendations with little evidence of the family’s voice. While such plans meet statutory requirements under the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014, they can risk disempowering families if they are not developed collaboratively. This created a tension in my practice, as I recognised that the approach did not always align with social work values of empowerment, partnership, and co-production (Trevithick, 2021).

Supervision offered me a valuable space to explore these concerns and to increase my self-awareness. I realised that by following the format of prescriptive plans without question, I was unintentionally reinforcing dependency and limiting opportunities for families to exercise choice and control, often setting families up to fail. This reflection highlighted a need for me to develop greater confidence in adapting systems and processes to reflect strengths-based, person-centred approaches.

Training in Collaborative Communications offered practical tools to address this issue. I learned how to support families in identifying their own goals and how to use language that reflected their outcomes, strengths and priority risks. Applying these skills in practice has made planning more meaningful, with families demonstrating greater ownership of their plans. This is consistent with research which suggests that co-production improves motivation and sustainability of outcomes (Social Care Institute for Excellence [SCIE], 2020).

Through critical analysis, I identified the following specific areas for improvement: enhancing my ability to balance risk and protective factors in written assessments, further developing analytical depth to inform effective interventions, and refining my strengths-based approach. Literature highlights the importance of analytical depth, which balances risk with strengths in order to inform proportionate and effective interventions (Munro, 2019). Strengthening my analytical skills therefore remains a key developmental need, and supervision will continue to support me in refining this area of practice.
I have made progress in building collaborative relationships, but team-wide consistency is still needed. The Collaborative Communications Mentor programme will help me share these skills, so collaboration becomes embedded across the team.

The final area of reflection relates to the application of professional judgement in increasingly complex situations. I have sometimes found that in high-risk or uncertain cases, I rely heavily on managerial input rather than fully trusting my own professional reasoning. Research highlights that reflective supervision is essential in supporting practitioners to develop resilience and confidence in decision-making (Ruch, 2020). Over the coming twelve months, I intend to enhance my resilience by exploring the reasoning behind my decisions in complex cases during supervision and by undertaking CPD focused on professional accountability. Maintaining a reflective journal will further support my growth by providing insight into how I navigate complexity and uncertainty in practice.

Evaluating my journey so far, I can see clear progress in how I use reflection and integrate learning into practice. I have developed skills in relationship building and adapting my approach to empower families. At the same time, I am increasingly aware of the areas requiring further development: refining analysis in assessments, embedding collaborative practice more widely, and applying professional judgement with confidence in complex situations.

In conclusion, Rolfe et al.’s reflective model has enabled me to move beyond description and to critically examine how my practice has developed since qualifying. Through supervision, training, and research, I have identified clear developmental needs that will shape my learning over the next year as part of my First Three Years of Practice plan. Strengthening my assessment analysis, leading collaborative practice, and building confidence in professional judgement will ensure that my work continues to align with SCW learning outcomes and contributes to effective, accountable social work practice.