Basic Restorative Training Skills

This foundational course equips trainers with the most essential skills to facilitate learning, and lead the group fostering active participation and involvement, in an atmosphere inspired by the restorative justice values and principles. The course is recommended for anyone who aims to deliver training according to the ethos of restorative justice principles. It is particularly apt for practitioners experienced in restorative justice, who may (or may not) have experience as trainers. The course has been developed by the Training Committee of the EFRJ.
The training takes participants through the most important aspects of training facilitation, and stimulates a meta-level reflection on the profile and competences of restorative justice practitioner trainers. During the sessions, participants will not only gain an insight into the methods of restorative justice training, but will also have the opportunity to get actively involved by bringing in their own exercises and activities. This interactive approach makes for a varied and enriching learning experience where each individual can contribute their own perspectives and expertise.

Participants will be involved in an active and participative way to learn how to create a group climate and interactive processes according to the values and principles of restorative justice. Participants will learn how to create a safe, stimulating and relational group environment. Trainers will facilitate learning, help learners to build and strengthen existing competencies, as well as their restorative skills and attitudes. They will acquire competences and skills according to the principles of adult learning: how to develop self-learning in themselves and in the participants of the courses they will lead, how to promote self-reflection in the course of professional action, non-judgmental confrontation, management of group processes. 

• Knowledge and connection between the participants and between the participants and the trainer
• Class contract/group agreement; creating a safe, reflective and stimulating group climate where participants can learn
• The principles of adult education
• Principles of group work practice and communication skills/styles.
• Restorative justice principles and values
• The reflective practitioner; Kolb’s learning cycle – theories into practice
• How to build relational activations according to the different needs of the classroom and the subject
• Facilitating feedback and confrontation in the activities carried out, in a non-judgmental climate and with the return of the method by the trainer; using the circle as the main training tool

Participants are encouraged to bring their own proposals for activities that can be tried out and discussed during the course of the training (think of short activities that may require maximum 20 minutes). 

Gael Cochrane is a restorative justice facilitator, trainer and researcher. She has been developing educational programmes and delivering training to a wide variety of participants for the past 24 years. Currently, she work at Community Justice Scotland as a Learning, development, and innovation Lead where she provides core training to Justice Social Workers and the wider Justice workforce. She has been involved in the development and delivery of restorative justice training for to Justice social workers, police- and prison officers, youth workers and workers in the third sector. ael works as a restorative justice facilitator with the Space 2 Face and the Edinburgh Restorative Justice and Hate Crime project supports the restorative justice team with mentoring, their continuous professional development and reflective practice.

Gael is a member of the Scottish Restorative Justice Forum, the Scottish Restorative Justice Research Network and is the Chair of the Scottish Restorative Justice Practitioners Network. Gael is the co-chair of the European Forum for Restorative Justice’s Training Committee, and has been a member of the Working Group on Gender Based Violence.

Tom Mellor came to the world of restorative practice from a background in theatre and live performance, training as a mask actor and working for years with the BAFTA award winning Geese Theatre Company. He has toured with various theatre companies across the Europe as a performer, improviser and facilitator and draws on many of these techniques and experiences in his restorative work. Tom enjoys supporting teachers and facilitators to develop engaging and creative ways to deliver training and explore what it means to be a restorative trainer. Tom is one of the co-founders and directors of The Restorative Lab, a specialist small company supporting organisations to develop relational and restorative attitudes, behaviours and processes that are congruent with their espoused values. Tom has extensive experience in the training and support of restorative practitioners and in the strategic development of restorative services in the fields of social care, children and young people’s services, criminal justice, and education. Tom completed a Masters in Education at Cambridge University and is currently studying an MSc in psychotherapy and is interested in ways psychotherapy can inform and support restorative practice.