Wild Goose Theatre have kindly allowed us to sell tickets to their dress rehearsal of "Romeo and Juliet" and for the proceeds to go to The Mint House. Come along to enjoy this iconic Shakespeare play and support The Mint House!

Please note this performance is being held at New Road Baptist Church.

Tickets are £5 and available on the door or on Eventbrite:

How can we talk to other people about restorative justice and practice in ways which connect with them?

How can we be most effective in encouraging people to take part in restorative work and making it accessible for them?

Sessions and speakers at this online conference will include:

• Solutions-focused journalism and working with the media (Jodie Jackson - News Literacy Lab, Myra Anubi - BBC, Nina Champion - Criminal Justice Alliance)

• How to amplify the voices of people with lived experience of restorative justice and share their stories (Sussex Pathways and Sussex Police)

• Communicating restorative justice to people who harm (Esther Wanjie-Nyeko – Belong)

• Communicating restorative justice to people who have been harmed by crime (Mike Bailey – Victim Support)

• Communicating restorative justice to gatekeepers (Dr Nikki D’Souza – Northumbria University)

• Communicating restorative justice across cultures, faiths, and languages (Sula Blankenburg – Why me?)

• Explaining restorative justice to young people (Leah Robinson – Why me?)

• Adapting restorative practice for language and communication needs (Paul Cornall – Stockport Inclusion Service)

• Communicating restorative justice at a national level (Jim Simon – RJC)

• Refocusing the narrative: aligning with respect (Monica Morris and Rachel Quine - Understanding People (UP) Project)

• Networking breakout rooms

• Resources sharing session

The sessions will vary in format, including presentations, circle conversations, and storytelling sessions (with some sessions running in parallel). All sessions will involve an element of discussion, and we are hoping to learn a lot from the invited speakers as well as each other in this participatory conference.

The conference will be of interest to anyone who is involved in talking about restorative practice with others, whether you are a restorative practitioner, involved in running a restorative practice organisation, working within education or criminal justice, or a communications professional.

Parts of the conference sessions will be recorded, but recordings will only be made available to those who have booked a place at the conference.

With your booking for the 2023 Conference, you will also receive access to all of the recordings from our 2022 Conference!

The conference has received CPD Approval from the RJC and CPD certificates will be available after the event. Please note that we will only be able to award CPD hours to those who attend the full day.

Tickets are £45 (full price) or £40 (early bird price, if booked more than a month before the event) and can be booked on Eventbrite.

(A very limited number of discounted tickets for students are available upon request. Please email joy@minthouseoxford.co.uk for details.)

Myra Anubi is a seasoned storyteller and solutions journalist who currently hosts the BBC World Service solutions programme "People Fixing The World." This podcast explores creative ideas that people have found to tackle some of the most pressing challenges we face today.

Mike Bailey is a Restorative Justice Area Coordinator at Victim Support

Sula Blankenburg is a Restorative Justice Development Officer at Why me?

Nina Champion is the Director of the Criminal Justice Alliance. The CJA is committed to changing the narrative around criminal justice and promoting more sensitive, constructive and solution-focused journalism to drive systemic change.

Paul Cornall is the Restorative Approaches Lead for Stockport Inclusion Service. He has worked in education for over 10 years, including as a senior leader implementing and using restorative practices to support children with significant SEN and SEMH needs.

Nikki D’Souza is an Assistant Professor in Policing Organisation and Practice at Northumbria University. After many years in the probation service and on staff in Durham Constabulary in a range of roles, Nikki completed a PhD on the feasibility of using restorative justice in the context of serious and organised crime. She now teaches on the policing programmes at Northumbria University for qualifying police officers.

Jodie Jackson is the founder of the News Literacy Lab and an author on the transformative power of changing our media diet. She has spent a decade researching solutions journalism as an antidote to the negativity bias in the news and delivers solutions journalism workshops and training to journalists, educators, parents and students worldwide.

Monica Morris was first introduced to restorative justice over 15 years ago and has worked in a variety of settings since then. As a black woman, Monica embraces restorative practices as the necessary healing part of her practice, which she combines with a revolutionary zeal in the hope to make our world a better one where all lives really matter. Monica works with The UP (Understanding People) Project to extend the reach of RA to those who do not currently benefit from it.

Ryan will be sharing his lived experience of restorative justice and perspective as someone who has caused harm, joined by staff from Sussex Pathways and Sussex Police.  Rosanna Summers is the Restorative Justice Manager for Sussex Pathways which are based in HMP Lewes. Rosanna has worked with Sussex Pathways since 2015, working in RJ since 2021. Toni Dean is the Restorative Services Delivery Manager for Sussex Police. Toni has worked for Sussex Police for 16 years and has worked in the area of Restorative Justice since 2019.

Leah Robinson is a Restorative Justice Development Officer (Youth Justice) at Why me?

Jim Simon is the Chief Executive Officer of the Restorative Justice Council. He joined the RJC as chief executive in April 2019, having been an RJC assessor since 2014 and currently chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Restorative Justice advisory board. He is an experienced practitioner and trainer within restorative practices and has led the strategic development and implementation of these services within educational and youth settings.

Esther Wanjie-Nyeko is the CEO of Belong: Making Justice Happen. Esther is a senior Restorative Justice practitioner with two decades of experience working with people who have offended and/or been a victim of crime, and over a decade of senior management experience. Before setting up Belong with a cofounder in 2010, Esther gained an understanding of issues in criminal justice globally by working in a number of African prisons.

A 2-hour CPD training event designed to help practitioners consider the underlying heuristic biases which may impact restorative work.

This event has RJC CPD Approval (Reference RJCMH200423).

To err is human… We are delighted to offer a 2-hour CPD workshop exploring unconscious heuristic biases which have potential to impact restorative processes. In this reflective and interactive space, we will explore how these unconscious processes influence our decision-making processes and what we can do to mitigate their impacts.

We will:

• Help practitioners understand why heuristic biases exist.

• Share how heuristic biases influence our decision-making processes.

• Consider together how heuristic biases may impact on restorative processes, including safety and non-discriminatory practice.

• Explore ways to mitigate the impact of heuristic biases on restorative work.

The event will be hosted by Dr Kathryn Rowsell, a registered and chartered Forensic Psychologist and a Trustee of The Mint House. Joining Dr Rowsell will be Richard Barker, a Consultant Clinical and Forensic Psychologist and Psychology Lead for Medium secure services in Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.

Please note, due to the workshop-style delivery of this training, it will not be recorded, so you will need to attend live on the day of the event.

Tickets can be booked on Eventbrite. Ticket prices are variable (please pay as you are able):

£25 (e.g. employed professional/government/academic/large organisation)

£10 (e.g. employed by a small charity)

Free (e.g. student/volunteer/don’t have the resources to pay for a ticket)

We will end the event with an opportunity for questions and discussion.

This online event will be held on Zoom. You can register on Eventbrite, with variable ticket prices available. Please pay as you are able so that we have the resources to continue to hold these types of events:

£10 (e.g. employed professional/government/academic/large organisation)

£5 (e.g. employed by a small charity)

Free (e.g. student/volunteer/don’t have the resources to pay for a ticket)

There have been many attempts to incorporate restorative justice into prison settings in the UK, with some success in privately run prisons and by restorative justice charities and service providers running programmes within HM Prisons. However, the use of restorative justice in HM Prisons is not widespread and has had mixed or limited success.

Join us as we explore the question 'What next steps in terms of policy and practice are required in order to embed/mainstream restorative justice into HM Prisons?'.

We will be exploring this topic in a ‘fishbowl conversation’ format where an ‘inner circle’ of conversationalists will discuss the topic, observed by attendees in an ‘outer circle’. Attendees are encouraged to join the inner circle to discuss the topic if they feel they have something to contribute. We hope it will be an engaging and organic conversation to explore ways forward.

Starting off the discussion as the inner circle of conversationalists will be:

• Geoff Emerson (former Senior Probation Officer and current Mint House Trustee)

• Jim Simon (CEO at RJC)

• Sam Warman (Head of Programmes at Belong)

• Shirl Tanner (CEO at Sussex Pathways)

This online event will be held on Zoom. You can register on Eventbrite, with variable ticket prices available. Please pay as you are able so that we have the resources to continue to hold these types of events:

• £10 (e.g. employed professional/government/academic/large organisation)

• £5 (e.g. employed by a small charity)

• Free (e.g. student/volunteer/don’t have the resources to pay for a ticket)

Geoff Emerson worked in the Probation Service for 40 years, retiring in 2013. He held the position of Senior Probation Officer in two prisons, Aylesbury YOI (1988 – 91) and HMP Bullingdon (1997 – 2001). During this time he was involved in managing the Thames Valley Probation trial as part of a government funded random control trial to test the effectiveness of RJ and mainstreaming RJ as part of community sentences in Thames Valley Courts. Since retirement, Geoff has been involved in a range of RJ practice and training initiatives with Thames Valley Partnership and HMP Bullingdon. These projects have included leading the UK element of two EU funded initiatives to develop victim-initiated RJ and undertaking work to train staff and prisoners at HMP Bullingdon. Geoff is also currently a Trustee of The Mint House.

Jim Simon is the Chief Executive Officer of the Restorative Justice Council.  He joined the RJC as chief executive in April 2019, having been an RJC assessor since 2014 and currently chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Restorative Justice advisory board. He is an experienced practitioner and trainer within restorative practices and has led the strategic development and implementation of these services within educational and youth settings. His academic studies have focused on education and his Master’s degree research specifically focused on equality and diversity and the impact of restorative practices on providing a fair and equitable service to those involved within the process.

Sam Warman is the Head of Programmes at Belong, a charity that provides restorative, mentoring and therapeutic interventions for those in the criminal justice system both in prison and the community. Until recently, he ran Belong's Restorative Justice service at HMP Coldingley for 5 years. At the event, Sam will also be representing the views of peer-facilitator ‘RJ Reps’ who work with Belong to support the use of restorative justice within prisons.

Shirl Tanner is the Chief Executive Officer for Sussex Pathways, a criminal justice charity working in HMP Lewes and across Sussex, and the Strategic Lead for Sussex Pathways with the Sussex Restorative Justice Partnership. She has been with Sussex Pathways for 13 years and has been practicing restorative justice for 8 years. Shirl is an RJ trained trainer and has accredited training with the RJC.

This event will explore the role of empathy in restorative justice processes. How can developing and experiencing empathy affect how people engage in restorative work? Can empathy help people on both sides of a conflict understand the experiences and needs of the other? What difference does it make?

 We will explore these questions by listening to the perspectives of three panel members with a variety of expertise in restorative justice. Wesley Grinham has lived experience of restorative justice and the criminal justice system, Kimia Saadatian studies issues surrounding punishment and empathy, and Pete Wallis is a senior practitioner and trainer in restorative justice.

Attendees will be encouraged to ask questions and engage in discussion with the panel members as we think about this topic together.

This event will be held online via Zoom. Tickets can be booked on Eventbrite. Ticket prices are variable – please pay as you are able so that we have the resources to continue to hold these types of events:

£10 (e.g. employed professional/government/academic/large organisation)

£5 (e.g. employed by a small charity)

Free (e.g. student/volunteer/don’t have the resources to pay for a ticket)

Wesley Grinham is is a senior mentor and groupwork facilitator for vulnerable young people. He has lived experience of the criminal justice system and restorative justice and has worked as a restorative justice facilitator to resolve conflicts within prison communities.

Kimia Saadatian is a doctoral student in the Department of Psychology at Stanford University. Trained as an interdisciplinary social psychologist, Kimia studies issues surrounding punishment, prejudice, and empathy. Her research develops evidence-based tools to reduce punitive attitudes in education, policing, and re-entry following incarceration.

Pete Wallis is an experienced trainer and senior restorative justice practitioner with Oxfordshire Youth Justice and Exploitation Service. He has written or co-authored several books on restorative justice, including Understanding Restorative Justice, which explores the role of empathy in restorative processes.

WORKSHOP 14.00 - 17.00 // Saturday, November 26

Explores restorative conversation skills and introducing ways to prevent conflict and resolve disagreement using restorative practices. Cost £5. Booking essential!

WORSHIP 10.30 -11.30 // Sunday, November 27

A public event and no prior registration is needed.

Tom Shaw is Director of Research and Development at Carr Manor Community School in Leeds. Tom leads on developing character, restorative approaches and peace education in the school. He was part of developing the www.restoreourschools.com project and works with schools across the UK to develop their relational and restorative practice. On behalf of the Leeds Learning Alliance (LLA), Tom leads on the promotion of ‘inclusion, collaboration and ambition’ to a wide range of education facing organisations across the country. As part of this, Tom is now developing a ‘Centre for Inclusive Practice’ where the LLA will commit to inclusive practice research, develop- ment and knowledge sharing which will include training, advice and support to colleagues.

Shona Shaw is formerly a minister at Moortown Baptist Church, Leeds and is a council member (specialist in theological reflection) of the Leeds Church Insititute.

RJC CPD Approved Event

Restorative practice is all about relationships; building relationships, maintaining relationships, and repairing relationships when things go wrong. The approach is based on a set of values, skills and processes that can help when people are communicating with one another.

Having its origins in the criminal justice context where quite rigid scripts were used for facilitating rather formal ‘restorative conferences’ between people who caused and were harmed by crime, restorative practice has become more and more widespread outside the criminal sphere. The approach has been found helpful in contexts ranging from staff conflict, schools, social care, mental health, neighbourhoods – in fact anywhere involving humans in relationship. It is also continuously evolving as practitioners try out new ideas.

This two-hour knowledge sharing and learning event will provide an opportunity to reflect on restorative conversation skills, learn about creative activities for exploring restorative themes, and share ideas with others. It is open to anyone wanting to add to their personal toolkit of resources.

This event may be of particular interest to:

• Teachers and school staff

• Restorative practitioners

• Community workers

• Social workers

• Support workers

• Prison staff

• Faith leaders

• University staff

We will:

• introduce practical resources, tools, frameworks, and creative activities that can be used to cover the five restorative themes

• provide space for participants to share their own experiences and ideas in breakout rooms with others

• facilitate a discussion on creative ways to support restorative conversations

The event will be led by Pete Wallis and Jo Brown, two experienced restorative practitioners.

(Please note, this is not a practitioner training course and is not intended on its own to prepare you to facilitate restorative justice conferences)

This event has been approved as a CPD event by the Restorative Justice Council (approval reference RJCMH231122).

Tickets can be booked on Eventbrite. Ticket prices are variable (please pay as you are able):

£25 (e.g. employed professional/government/academic/large organisation)

£10 (e.g. employed by a small charity)

Free (e.g. student/volunteer/don’t have the resources to pay for a ticket)

Pete Wallis joined Oxfordshire Youth Justice Service in 2000, having previously worked as a teacher, residential care worker, drugs worker and with prisoners and the homeless. Pete is passionate about the benefits that the restorative approach offers. He has written or co-authored several books on the subject, including 'Understanding Restorative Justice', which explores the role of empathy in restorative processes. Pete is one of the founders and current Vice Chair of the charity SAFE! Support for young people affected by crime, and is a Trustee of The Mint House.

Jo Brown has a background in social work and teaching and first worked in restorative justice as part of a home office pilot in 1997. Jo has been a champion of restorative practice ever since, joining the Youth Justice Service as a Referral Panel Co-ordinator in 2006 and becoming Oxfordshire County Council Anti-Bullying Co-ordinator leading on the development of restorative practice in schools from 2008 – 2019 and gaining experience of restorative practice and training across schools, social care and HR. Jo has worked for The Mint House since 2019 and is their lead restorative trainer. Jo is a current trustee, and one of the founding trustees for the charity SAFE! Support for young people affected by crime.

Almost daily it seems we have painful reminders in the news about the range of online harms, the damage these cause, and the limitations of current responses centred on content moderation and traditional forms of justice.

Dr Amy Hasinoff (University of Colorado Denver) will be speaking on her research on restorative justice and online harm.

Dr. Hasinoff studies gender and sexuality in the context of new media. She uses media and cultural studies methodologies to investigate how we think about new media and how those ideas affect the way we develop, use, and regulate communication technologies. 

Her book, Sexting panic: Rethinking criminalization, privacy, and consent (University of Illinois Press, 2015) examines the construction of sexting as a social problem and the responses to it in mass media, law, and education. Sexting Panic won the 2016 National Communication Association Diamond Anniversary Book Award.

Dr. Hasinoff’s work also appears in Communication and Critical Cultural Studies, New Media & Society, Critical Studies in Media Communication, and Feminist Media Studies. She is currently working on projects on image-based sexual abuse and restorative and transformative justice.

This event will be held online via Zoom. Tickets can be booked on Eventbrite. Ticket prices are variable – please pay as you are able so that we have the resources to continue to hold these types of events:

£10 (e.g. employed professional/government/academic/large organisation)

£5 (e.g. employed by a small charity)

Free (e.g. student/volunteer/don’t have the resources to pay for a ticket)

Continuing our exploration of restorative justice and the arts, Dr Clair Aldington will be sharing her research and experiences as an artist and practitioner incorporating art-making and gifting into restorative justice processes.

Clair is an artist, designer, and restorative practitioner and researcher. She was trained by Oxfordshire Youth Offending Service and Thames Valley Police as a Restorative Justice practitioner in 2002 and worked for six years with Oxfordshire Youth Offending Service. Clair also served as the Creative Arts Development Worker in Youth Justice with Oxfordshire and West Berkshire Youth Offending Services.

In 2007, she moved to Shetland, Scotland, and co-founded Space2face creative restorative practices organisation which became an independent charity in 2016. She is now their Director-Practitioner.

She has recently completed a PhD in Restorative Justice and Design which examined the role of art-making, gifting, and solidarity in restorative justice processes. As an artist she has undertaken workshops and residencies in schools, women’s refuges, an immigration removal centre and a prison. Her research and practice interests are in the role of making and gifting in times of transition, harm and conflict, particularly in the aftermath of crime.

We will end the event with an opportunity for questions and discussion.

This event will be held online via Zoom. Tickets can be booked on Eventbrite for this ‘Pay As You Feel’ event. Please pay as you are able to help us cover the costs of the event (suggested contribution £5), however a free ticket option is available if you prefer.

Please note that this event will not be recorded, so you will need to attend online at the advertised time in order to hear Clair’s presentation.

Wild Goose Theatre have kindly allowed us to sell tickets to their dress rehearsal of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and for the proceeds to go to The Mint House. Come along to enjoy this fun Shakespeare play and support The Mint House!

Please note this performance is being held at New Road Baptist Church.

Tickets are £5 and available on Eventbrite:

Our topics and speakers will include:

• Reframing restorative justice - Lucy Jaffe (Why Me?)

• Overcoming barriers and gatekeepers to restorative justice - Professor Joanna Shapland (University of Sheffield)

• Communicating restorative justice to victims of crime - Dr Rebecca Banwell-Moore (University of Nottingham)

• Communicating restorative practice in the context of neurodiversity - Tom Procter-Legg/Charlotte Roberts (Iffley Academy)

• Communicating restorative justice through film and the arts - Deborah Mitchell (RJ Working)

• Introducing children to restorative practice through stories - Dr Lindsey Pointer (Vermont Law School)

We will also end the day with a panel discussion and ensure there is plenty of time for questions and discussion during the sessions. Our panel speakers will include:

• Esther Wanjie-Nyeko (CEO of Belong) - chairing panel

• Hardyal Dhindsa (RJC Trustee, Labour Councillor, and former Police and Crime Commissioner)

• Clifford Grimason (Restorative Justice Manager, HMPPS)

• Wesley Grinham (Mentor and groupwork facilitator for vulnerable young people, with lived experience of the criminal justice system and restorative justice)

• Lindsey Pointer (Vermont Law School)

Tickets are £35 (full price) or £30 (early bird price, if booked more than a month before the event) and can be booked on Eventbrite.

The conference sessions will be recorded, but recordings will only be made available to those who have booked a place at the conference.

The conference schedule can be downloaded here: Communicating Restorative Justice and Practice Schedule

Speakers

Panelists

The session recordings, presentation slides, delegate list, and other follow-up resources can be found at this link (password protected - only for access by conference delegates):

If you need the password, please email joy@minthouseoxford.co.uk

Dr Kerry Clamp is an Associate Professor in Criminology at the University of Nottingham, UK. Her research focuses on the application of restorative justice within transitional settings, policing and the community. She has always had a strong interest in practice and a desire to reduce the boundaries between academia, practice and policymaking. She was Editor of the Newsletter for the European Forum for Restorative Justice and Chair of the Editorial Committee (2011-2018) and Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Restorative Justice Council (2018-2021). She currently sits on the International Advisory Board for The International Journal of Restorative Justice. Her latest monograph Restorative Policing in Practice: A Potential Cultural Revolution is due to be published in 2023 by Routledge and will draw on lessons learned from empirical research conducted over the last 5 years on frontline practice.

A/PS Russ Massie joined the Metropolitan Police in 2006 and in 2013 joined Thames Valley Police (TVP), targeting Organised Crime and County Lines gangs before becoming the Safer Schools Officer for Oxford. In 2020 Russ joined the Thames Valley Violence Reduction Unit (TVVRU) and is the TVVRU and TVP Tactical Lead for Child Centred Policing. Russ is passionate about addressing disproportionality in the criminal justice system, particularly through appropriate and fair responses to offending in schools. As TVP’s Schools Policing Coordinator, Russ is responsible for schools policing across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, leading the force’s Safer Schools Officers and developing content for both colleagues and educators to help keep children safe and increase trust and legitimacy in the police. Russ regularly delivers training and CPD to schools and educators and advises other police forces on best practice for schools policing. He is also a guest lecturer at the University of Sheffield.

We will end the event with an opportunity for questions and discussion.

Tickets can be booked on Eventbrite for this ‘Pay As You Feel’ event. Please pay as you are able to help us cover the costs of the event (suggested contribution £5), however a free ticket option is available if you prefer:

People with Learning Disabilities and Autism (LDA) are often victims of hate crime such as verbal abuse, assault, criminal damage, and robbery, yet many do not report it. The Why Me? Project 'Access to Justice: Delivering Restorative Justice for Learning Disability and Autism (LDA) hate crime’ looked at ways in which restorative justice could be used to address harm and be made more widely available in these cases.

Why Me? worked in partnership with Barnet Mencap and Lambeth Disability Hate Crime Partnership to deliver the project, including the development of a referral pipeline. They also worked with students from Middlesex University and actors from the Learning Disability Community to produce videos illustrating examples of how restorative justice could benefit victims of Learning Disability and Autism hate crime. Mark Smith will share the process and outcomes of the project and what they have learned from it.

Mark Smith is a Restorative Justice Coordinator at Why Me? and was project lead for the Delivering Restorative Justice for Learning Disability and Autism (LDA) hate crime project. He was a police officer in the Metropolitan Police for over 31 years, 22 of those working as a Detective. Mark spent 10 years on a murder investigation team in the East End of London where he understood how victims were treated in the judicial process. Having retired from the police, he worked for the Probation Service for almost 3 years and was introduced to restorative justice by a relative who worked on a restorative justice project in Manchester. As well as working for Why me? Mark volunteers as a facilitator for Essex Restorative Justice & Mediation Service and is an accredited practitioner with the Restorative Justice Council. 

We will end the event with an opportunity for questions and discussion.

Tickets can be booked on Eventbrite for this ‘Pay As You Feel’ event. Please pay as you are able to help us cover the costs of the event (suggested contribution £5), however a free ticket option is available if you prefer:

Dr Estelle Moore is a clinical and forensic psychologist, who has worked in the NHS for 30 years. Her current roles include operating as Professional Lead for Psychological Services at West London NHS Trust and as Head of Psychological Services at Broadmoor Hospital. She is also the Chair of the London region’s Psychological Professions Network (PPN). Estelle’s clinical and research interests are in the treatment of post-traumatic stress in the context of complex needs, trauma-informed care, workplace resilience and restorative justice.  She is a trained Restorative Justice Practitioner and works with staff teams to increase restorative principles and practices within high and medium secure forensic settings and to use resolution for conflict within the workplace.

Dr Gerard Drennan is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist in the NHS, and holds the post of Head of Psychology & Psychotherapy in the Behavioural & Developmental Psychiatry Operations Directorate of the South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.  Over the past decade Gerard has led projects to introduce restorative justice practice into mental health services, and has published book chapters and journal articles on how mental health services can do more to recognise and address harm in the recovery journeys of all who are affected by trauma and adversity. Gerard became the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Restorative Justice Council in June 2021.

The event will be hosted by Dr Kathryn Rowsell, a forensic psychologist with Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, and a Trustee of The Mint House. Prior to retraining as a Forensic Psychologist, Kathryn worked in youth justice and charitable settings for nineteen years supporting both young people who had caused harm to others and individuals and group affected by crime. An advocate for young people called as witnesses in England and Wales, Kathryn’s Doctoral research focused on the experiences of young people in the Court room. Since qualifying, Kathryn has gained employment in medium secure forensic services and is involved in the development of a trauma informed strategy for her trust. 

We will end the event with an opportunity for questions and discussion.

Tickets can be booked on Eventbrite for this ‘Pay As You Feel’ event. Please pay as you are able to help us cover the costs of the event (suggested contribution £5), however a free ticket option is available if you prefer:

The arts can be a powerful way to engage with difficult concepts and experiences. Drama and theatre can help us to imagine the perspectives of other people and explore emotions which we may struggle to face in our personal reality.

At this event, we will look at how drama and theatre in different forms can be used to help others, and ourselves, reflect on and understand restorative justice more deeply.

Miranda Warner will speak on her experience of using drama and applied theatre workshops to help men in prison engage with restorative justice themes such as exploring emotions, empathy, apology, forgiveness, and understanding perspectives of others. Miranda Warner has an MA in Applied Theatre; Drama and the Criminal Justice System and is Restorative Justice Facilitator for Restorative Justice Nelson in New Zealand.

Rebecca Abrams will share her process and experience of writing a play about restorative justice titled The Meeting Room, which explores ideas of how people can encounter shifting spaces in their minds, hearts, and relationships as they consider different ways of thinking and feeling about the past. Rebecca Abrams is an award-winning writer and journalist and teaches creative writing at Oxford University. 

We will end the event with an opportunity for questions and discussion.

Tickets can be booked on Eventbrite for this ‘Pay As You Feel’ event. Please pay as you are able to help us cover the costs of the event (suggested contribution £5), however a free ticket option is available if you prefer: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/using-the-arts-to-engage-with-restorative-justice-tickets-260211759377

At this network event, Dr Mark Umbreit will explore the roots and influence of spirituality in restorative justice.

Dr Mark Umbreit is a Professor and founding Director of the Center for Restorative Justice & Peacemaking at the University of Minnesota, School of Social Work. Mark serves on the faculty of the Center for Spirituality & Healing in the Academic Health Center at the University of Minnesota, teaching courses on Peacebuilding Through Mindfulness Practice, and Forgiveness & Healing. He also serves as a Visiting Professor at the Marquette University Law School in Milwaukee teaching a course on Peacemaking and Spirituality. As as an experienced restorative practitioner, he has facilitated peace-building circles and restorative dialogues, including restorative work in faith communities.

This Mint House network event is FREE of charge but booking is essential!

Book now on Eventbrite to receive the Zoom link:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-spiritual-not-religious-core-of-restorative-justice-tickets-186621338447

Dr Ben Almassi (Associate Professor of Philosophy, Governors State University) will be speaking on the relevance of restorative approaches to the climate crisis.

Dr Almassi is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Governors State University, on the far south side of Chicago, where he teaches a variety of courses in practical ethics, political theory, and critical thinking, and is co-director of GSU's new Certificate in Restorative Justice.  He is the author of Reparative Environmental Justice in a World of Wounds, published in December 2020 with Lexington Books.

We will dedicate a large portion of the event to questions and discussion.

This Mint House Network event is FREE of charge and will be held over Zoom.

Booking essential! Book now on Eventbrite to receive the Zoom link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/what-contribution-can-restorative-practices-make-to-the-climate-crisis-tickets-168407456235

Vince Mercer (Restorative Practice Lead, The AIM Project), will be speaking on some of the practice implications of using restorative approaches in cases of sexual harm.

Some of the topics covered will include:

• 'Restorative justice doesn't do sex cases?’ Why not?

• Securing safe and appropriate practice

• The strengths and weaknesses of a formal assessment process

• Some theoretical perspectives on victim 'recovery', offender desistence and trauma informed work

• Practice standards

• Wider professional engagement

We also hope to leave a generous amount of time for questions and further discussion.

This event is free of charge, although as a charity we appreciate contributions towards the costs of this event. You can ‘pay as you feel’ when booking your free ticket or you can donate on our website: www.minthouseoxford.co.uk/donate.

Booking essential! Book now on Eventbrite to receive the Zoom link:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/practice-implications-of-restorative-approaches-to-harmful-sexual-behaviour-tickets-163468232885

You may also be interested in the other event in this series: Complexities of restorative justice in cases of sexual harm: learning from practice and research in the Thames Valley

Dave Aukett (Restorative Prisons Project Manager, Sodexo Justice) will be sharing his experiences of introducing restorative approaches in private prisons.

With a history of using restorative practices in a variety of settings, Dave has worked with Sodexo Justice for five years. HMP Peterborough were the first prison to implement a whole prison approach and now Dave supports the other four Sodexo Justice prisons on this journey. Sodexo Justice received the Restorative Service Quality Mark in 2018 and were awarded Restorative Organisation recognition from the Restorative Justice Council this year.

Dave will be joined by Lynsey Pooley (Restorative Prison Co-ordinator at HMP Peterborough) and Jim Simon (Chief Exec at the Restorative Justice Council).

The session will include discussion of:

• using restorative approaches to resolve conflict between prisoners and between prisoners and staff

• developing effective partnerships with restorative justice service providers to deliver restorative justice in the prison

• resolving family issues and conflicts with Restorative Family meetings.

This Mint House Network event is FREE of charge and will be held over Zoom.

Booking essential! Book now on Eventbrite to receive the Zoom link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/restorative-prisons-introducing-a-whole-prison-approach-tickets-166900380531

You can find Dr Diana Batchelor’s handbook for practitioners, ‘Challenging Cases’ on her website:

www.dianabatchelor.com/challenging-cases

Andrew Bates (Chartered and Registered Forensic Psychologist, The Probation Service), Helen Leney (Senior Restorative Justice Practitioner, Thames Valley Restorative Justice Service), and Dr Diana Batchelor (Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Oxford) will be speaking on theory, practice and research drawing on their experiences of restorative justice in cases of sexual harm in the Thames Valley.

• Discussion of issues that arise in the use of restorative justice in cases of sexual harm

• Case discussion of two cases including practice, issues, and outcomes

• Presentation of research and working model of victim engagement

We also hope to leave a generous amount of time for questions and further discussion.

This event is free of charge, although as a charity we appreciate contributions towards the costs of this event. You can ‘pay as you feel’ when booking your free ticket or you can donate on our website: www.minthouseoxford.co.uk/donate.

Booking essential! Book now on Eventbrite to receive the Zoom link:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/complexities-of-restorative-justice-in-cases-of-sexual-harm-tickets-163180604581

You may also be interested in the other event in this series: Practice implications of restorative approaches to Harmful Sexual Behaviour

Restorative Just Culture: the story of Mersey Care NHS Trust

Amanda Oates (Executive Director of Workforce, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust) and Dr Kristina Brown (Senior Lecturer, Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University) will be speaking on the story of the Just and Learning Culture at Mersey Care NHS Trust. 

In recent years, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust has undergone a radical shift in workplace culture and organisational procedures. They have gone from a blame culture to a culture where staff feel empowered and supported to learn from incidents. Numbers of disciplinary and suspension cases went down, staff reporting of adverse incidents went up, and there were positive effects on staff retention and levels of sickness absence.

Restorative justice was integral to these changes, termed the ‘Just and Learning Culture’. Amanda Oates and Kristina Brown will reflect on the impact of the restorative just culture at Mersey Care and help us to understand how other organisations can adopt a similar approach.

This event will be held online via Zoom (link TBA). Please contact joy@minthouseoxford.co.uk for more information.

You can register for this event on Eventbrite.

Restorative Justice and cases of sexual violence

Online network event
Wednesday 28 April 2021
12:30-1:30pm (Zoom event open from 12:15pm)

We are pleased to reschedule this talk by Dr Estelle Zinsstag (Edinburgh Napier University/University of Oxford) which was originally planned for March 2020 and postponed due to COVID-19.

Dr Zinsstag will present her research on restorative justice and cases of sexual violence.

This event will be held online via Zoom (link TBA). Please contact joy@minthouseoxford.co.uk for more information.

You can register for this event on Eventbrite.

Emerging from lockdown – a restorative approach to restoring relationships and rebuilding community

We are all living through a unique time. COVID-19 has affected everyone, but everyone differently – we’re in the same storm, but different boats. For many it has been an anxious and traumatic experience, for some there have been unexpected blessings as well as losses. Life is made up of the stories we tell each other, an expression of our need to make sense of the world and our drive to find meaning, particularly in hard times. Stories help us support one another, to build and maintain, and sometimes repair our relationships. At a time when some relationships have been intensified and others stretched thin or lost altogether, this event is an opportunity to come together to reflect on our individual journeys through this storm, to share stories of where we have been, and chart our courses towards hope and healing.

Pete Wallis (Senior Restorative Justice Practitioner for Oxfordshire Youth Justice Service) will introduce our time together by sharing his personal story, followed by opportunities for sharing our own stories in breakout circles.

This event will be held online via Zoom (link TBA). Please contact joy@minthouseoxford.co.uk for more information.

You can also find this event on Eventbrite.