From Training to Practice: Supporting Restorative Practitioners

by Rosie Chadwick

A key question for our field is how make the leap from restorative practice training to ‘real world’ application. Skills that feel manageable in the classroom can look very different in contexts where emotions run high, group dynamics shift quickly, and the cost of missteps can be high. And while experience is needed to develop expertise, opportunities for practice can be limited.

Given these challenges, it’s encouraging to see new research underway in San Diego exploring how students and professionals translate training into sustained practice. Over three years (2025–2027), Professor David Karp and co-investigator Anna Bussu are following different cohorts of participants and using a mix of methods to explore how people experience training then go on to apply it.  A particular focus will be on: ‘the competences actually mobilised, the difficulties encountered in practice, and the training needs that emerge over time.’ We look forward to their findings with great interest.

Other help is at hand before that. In The Little Book of Restorative Teaching Tools, Lindsey Pointer, Kathleen McGoey, and Haley Farrar offer a range of games and activities that model restorative values, help to deepen learning and offer ways for practitioners to hone their skills through practice and reflection. We’re delighted that Lindsey and Kathleen will be leading an online workshop with us on 29 April, bringing these ideas to life.

Australian colleagues Dr Alikki Vernon and Dr David Moore also highlight the importance of stronger “learning systems” to support continuous, on-the-job development. We’re looking forward to them sharing their insights at an in-person workshop in Oxford on 18 June.

High-quality, experiential training, backed up by chances to practice and reflect and with clear development pathways feels like a winning combination, paving the way for lasting impact.  Do join us if you can to find out more….

Events
Restorative Teaching Tools (CPD workshop)
Apr 29
Restorative Teaching Tools (CPD workshop)

Please join us for an online Restorative Teaching Tools workshop to learn games and activities for teaching restorative justice concepts.

 Together, we will explore why games and activities are a particularly good fit for teaching restorative justice, and engage with four activities designed to meet common restorative justice learning needs, all while having fun! 

 This is a great opportunity for restorative justice practitioners, trainers, and educators seeking to diversify their teaching methods. You will gain experience with games and activities that you can use to create more interactive, relational, and experiential learning spaces. 

This workshop will be facilitated by Kathleen McGoey and Lindsey Pointer, authors of The Little Book of Restorative Teaching Tools and The Little Book of Restorative Teaching Tools for Online Learning. You can read more about each of them and their work at https://restorativeteachingtools.com.

Registration is now open!

Facilitating Restorative Circles (including with large groups)
Jun 17
Facilitating Restorative Circles (including with large groups)

One day in-person workshop to learn foundational skills for facilitating restorative circles.

Restorative practice supports people to manage conflict, resolve disputes, and negotiate agreements in criminal justice, health, and education systems, and in family, workplace, residential, faith, and other communities.

In all of these contexts, a facilitated restorative circle can support a group of people to make sense of a situation together, then make an agreement about how to improve that situation.

This one-day workshop introduces foundational skills for facilitating restorative circles, including circles with large groups of people. 

The workshop is for people who are (i) new to restorative practice or (ii) experienced with restorative conferences in restorative justiceprogrammes, and interested to explore the use of restorative circles in other contexts.

Registration is now open!

Reimagining and Extending Restorative Practice (for experienced practitioners and managers)
Jun 18
Reimagining and Extending Restorative Practice (for experienced practitioners and managers)

One day in-person workshop for experienced practitioners to extend their facilitation practice and for managers to expand the scope of their programmes.

This one-day workshop has been developed for restorative practitioners who are seeking to consolidate and/or extend their facilitation practice, and for leaders and managers interested to expand the scope of their programs.

Participants will:

●       explore how to adapt restorative processes when dealing with (i) complex cases involving harm, or (ii) situations in workplaces and other communities that involve a complex set of entangled issues;

●       analyse combinations of circle processes and techniques that can help facilitators and participants address complex situations constructively;

●       revise skills for diagnosing situations, defining process(es), and preparing participants;

●       examine a learning system which uses reflective practice to support practitioners to learn on-the-job, individually and collectively.

Registration is now open!