🧭 1. Entry Requirements (Readiness to Practice)

Before starting a Microproject, practitioners must have:

✔ Learning Foundation

• Completed I Matter Introduction pathway
• Completed Level 1–2 Foundations (or equivalent entry route)

✔ Practice Readiness

• Understanding of I Matter principles
• Awareness of relational, non-clinical boundaries
• Ability to reflect on practice in structured ways

✔ Licence Status

• Valid Microproject Practitioner Licence (Link or Lead level)
• Or organisational approval under CPD / Enhanced Practice licence

🧩 2. Defining a Microproject (Scope Rules)

A Microproject must:

• involve 1–3 focus areas, individuals, or situations
• be clearly defined at the start
• be time-limited and bounded
• focus on understanding, communication, and relational patterns
• include structured reflection

✔ Appropriate focus examples:

• patterns in parent–child communication
• stress and misunderstanding in family dynamics
• workplace relational tension and communication clarity
• supporting early understanding of behavioural responses

❌ Not appropriate for Microprojects:

• crisis intervention situations
• safeguarding assessment or decision-making
• clinical diagnosis or treatment planning
• high-risk or acute mental health presentations
• legal or disciplinary investigations

🧭 3. The Microproject Practice Cycle

All Microprojects follow a structured 6-stage cycle:

🟦 Step 1: Identify the Focus

• define the situation or relational pattern
• clarify what is being explored (not “fixed”)
• confirm it fits Microproject scope

🟨 Step 2: Check Suitability & Safety

• assess whether this is appropriate for Microproject work
• consider complexity, vulnerability, and risk factors
• confirm no safeguarding or clinical escalation is required
• seek advice if uncertain

🟩 Step 3: Plan the Microproject

Using the Microproject Planning Framework:

• what is being explored
• who is involved (max 1–3 focus areas)
• what learning lens is being applied
• what “success” means in terms of understanding (not outcome fixing)

🟧 Step 4: Agreement & Framing

• ensure participants understand the purpose
• clarify that this is a learning process
• agree boundaries and expectations
• confirm voluntary participation where applicable

🟪 Step 5: Apply Learning in Context

• use I Matter concepts in real-life interactions
• support clearer communication and reflection
• observe changes in understanding and response patterns
• remain within non-clinical role boundaries

🟫 Step 6: Reflect & Record Learning

• structured reflection on what was observed
• identify patterns, shifts, and insights
• complete Microproject record
• consider implications for future practice

🕯 4. The Candle Principle (Practice Ethic)

Microproject Practice is guided by a simple principle:

“We cannot do everything, but we can each do something.”

This means:

• working at a small, intentional scale
• focusing on clarity rather than control
• valuing understanding over fixing
• maintaining steady, reflective practice

🧠 5. Reflection Requirements

Every Microproject must include:

• what was noticed in relationships or communication
• what changed (if anything) in understanding or response
• what felt helpful or unhelpful
• what learning emerged for future practice
• whether anything requires escalation or referral

Reflection is a core part of the practice model, not an optional add-on.

⚖️ 6. Safeguarding & Escalation

Practitioners must always:

• remain alert to safeguarding concerns
• follow organisational or statutory safeguarding procedures immediately where needed
• pause Microproject activity if risk escalates
• seek supervision or consultation when uncertain

Microprojects do not replace professional safeguarding responsibility.

🧑‍🏫 7. Support & Consultation Pathways

Practitioners are supported through:

🧩 Link Practitioner Support

• orientation to the system
• light-touch guidance
• access support for participants

🧭 Lead Practitioner Support

• structured consultation
• reflective practice support
• group or 1:1 study support sessions
• complex case reflection (within non-clinical boundaries)

🏫 Organisational Support

• governance alignment
• supervision structures
• integration into team practice

📦 8. Microproject Pack (Required Tools)

Each Microproject must use the standard pack, which includes:

• Planning template
• Focus definition sheet
• Safety check prompts
• Reflection framework
• Learning capture record
• Closure checklist

This ensures consistency and safe practice across settings.

🔁 9. Closure of a Microproject

A Microproject is considered complete when:

• planned focus has been explored
• reflection has been completed
• learning has been recorded
• no outstanding safety concerns remain
• participants understand closure has occurred

Microprojects may also be paused or paused and revisited if needed.

🧭 Certification (Lightweight Practice Recognition)

Some practitioners may choose to work towards a Microproject Practice Certification within the I Matter Learning System.

This certification is designed to be lightweight, meaningful, and practice-based, recognising safe and reflective application of relationship health learning in real-life contexts.

It is not a clinical qualification, and it does not replace or compete with existing professional training or accreditation. Instead, it is intended to complement existing qualifications by supporting applied understanding in everyday practice.

🧠 What the Certification Recognises

Certification is based on evidence of:

• completion of relevant I Matter learning pathways (e.g. Introduction and Level 1–2 Foundations)
• safe, structured application of learning through 1–3 Microprojects
• reflective practice using guided prompts and learning capture tools
• engagement in at least one peer learning or reflective discussion space
• appropriate understanding of boundaries, including non-clinical scope and escalation awareness
  
  

🧩 What it is NOT

This certification is intentionally designed to remain light-touch and scalable. It is:

• not a clinical qualification
• not a therapeutic accreditation
• not a replacement for professional training or supervision systems
• not an assessment of performance or outcomes
• not a pass/fail competency test

It does not measure “how well someone fixes a situation”, but rather how safely and reflectively they apply relationship health thinking in context.

🌱 Purpose of Certification

The purpose of this certification is to:

• support safe, structured application of learning in real-world situations
• strengthen confidence in using relationship health concepts in practice
• develop reflective capacity and shared understanding across roles
• create a consistent but flexible standard for applied learning
• support scaling of the I Matter approach across individuals, practitioners, and organisations
  
  

🕯 Design Principle

This certification is built on a simple principle:

It is better to recognise small, safe, reflective application of learning than to create complex barriers to participation.

The aim is to support practitioners to light a candle in practice — doing something small, thoughtful, and grounded in understanding — rather than attempting to demonstrate perfection or control outcomes.

🔑 In Summary

The Microproject Practice Certification is a lightweight recognition of applied learning in action.

It sits alongside, rather than above or instead of, existing professional qualifications, and is designed to remain:

• accessible
• scalable
• reflective
• safe
• system-compatible