Reflective practice is deemed an essential skill for future practitioners to learn and perform and provides the framework for transferring and applying learning (theory) into different practical scenarios (Fealy, 1999; Duffy, 2009). Reflection is a skill which is not necessarily easily developed or practiced as it is often sidelined or hindered, as observed here on occasion, due to a focus on technical aspects during clinical training and time constraints encountered in busy clinical environments (Eraut, 1995). It has been suggested that raising the value of reflection as a crucial element of good practice, and highlighting the benefits (eg improved job satisfaction, practice outcomes and the development of expert levels of practice (rather than years of experience) (Benner, 1984; Schon, 1987; King et al., 2007)) may resolve the issue of a lack of time (Ng, 2011) and encourage planned ‘reflective time’ (Duffy, 2009) (Owen & Stupans, 2009). The experiences reported here support these suggestions. Adopting a structured approach, comprising a series of taught sessions outlining reflective theory and using a guided model for evidencing and assessing reflective practice, helped the process of reflection development by ensuring students were aware of the importance and benefits of reflection, providing them with time and guidance to reflect on their practice and facilitate the provision of feedback regarding their practical and reflective skills in a timely manner.