Yesterday, staff from across Moray Reach Out came together for a fantastic Training Day focused on collaboration, shared learning, and celebrating the incredible work taking place throughout the organisation.
Following a welcome by Shona, our General & Business Development Manager and a reminder of our 25th and 30th anniversary celebrations (see video via link – https://morayreachout.org.uk/mrojourney/), the morning began with members from each project speaking to the wider team about what “a day in their life” looks like within their role. It was a brilliant opportunity to gain insight into the wide variety of support and activities taking place across MRO, with every project offering something unique for the trainees and communities they support.
Following this, staff were divided into groups to take part in a range of interactive activities and discussions. One of the main activities focused on the trainee induction process, where groups were given scrambled induction documents and asked to work together to place them into the order they felt worked best. This encouraged valuable discussions around current processes, what works well, and areas where improvements or new ideas could be explored.
Another key discussion centred around trainee support plans and outcomes, with teams sharing the different ways achievements and progress can be recorded and celebrated across projects. The activity provided an excellent opportunity for staff to exchange ideas and learn from each other’s experiences and approaches.
Once the group sessions had finished, everyone came back together to share feedback and discuss their thoughts and decisions from the activities. Hearing the different perspectives and reasoning from each group sparked meaningful conversations and highlighted the benefits of working collaboratively across the organisation.
The afternoon continued with a fun and engaging activity led by Shona, where statements about MRO and its history were pinned throughout the building. Staff worked together to decide whether each statement was true, false, or ambiguous – a great way to learn more about the organisation while encouraging discussion and teamwork.
Following a brief, fun energiser activity, the staff participated in a Mentimeter feedback session to express their thoughts on the day and suggest ideas for future training opportunities and team bonding activities.
The feedback highlighted an overwhelmingly positive experience across the organisation, with staff describing the day as enjoyable, informative, engaging, and interactive. Responses to the question, “How would you describe MRO?” (see word cloud below) further reflected the strong culture within Moray Reach Out, with themes centred around being supportive, inclusive, welcoming, positive, and empowering. Overall, the feedback reinforced the strong sense of teamwork, shared values, and genuine commitment to the wellbeing of both staff and trainees that exists throughout MRO.
To round off the day, MRO volunteers joined staff at 3pm for tea, cake, and celebration. We were also delighted to welcome Alan and Alison from the MRO Board. The beautiful celebration cake marked an important milestone for the organisation as we celebrate 25 years of Moray Reach Out supporting adults with disabilities and communities across Moray. A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to making the day such a positive and successful event. We look forward to building on the ideas, feedback, and connections made throughout the day.
