Welcome to Abigail Stevens Stone

We are delighted to welcome Abigail Stevens Stone to The Mint House team as our new Training and Projects Officer.

Abigail brings a wealth of experience in building restorative communities and conducting community-based research on topics such as reintegration, recidivism, and environmental innovation. Originally from Bend, Oregon, she has spent 6 years working in peacebuilding, economic development, and community development in the USA, Brazil, and Bolivia before migrating to England. 

Abigail has personally benefited from restorative practice and is passionate about providing the opportunity to experience restorative practice in the Oxford community.

In her role, Abigail will work to expand our training programme throughout Oxfordshire, while also working at the community level to help introduce restorative practice as part of the way of life here in Oxford. In addition to overseeing existing projects, she will be exploring new initiatives to further extend our impact.

When not at work, Abigail enjoys spending time outdoors, experimenting in the arts, and sharing good food around a large table.

New Resource: Reflection Aids for Restorative Leaders

We are pleased to launch a new resource ‘Humility and hope: reflection aids for restorative leaders’ with support from Westhill Endowment and as a result of our ‘Building Bridges’ dialogues.

Twelve reflection aids will be published fortnightly starting in September 2024. The Introduction and first two reflection aids are available now! Contents include:

Introduction
Reflection 1: It starts with you!
Reflection 2: Changing mindsets
Reflection 3: Creating safe spaces
Reflection 4: Surfacing voices in the system
Reflection 5: Seeing leadership as more than an individual pursuit
Reflection 6: Taking people with you
Reflection 7: Patience not pace: on holding out for realistic timeframes
Reflection 8: Starting somewhere
Reflection 9: More than one road up the mountain
Reflection 10: Telling the story
Reflection 11: Turning our thinking on its head
Reflection 12: Get up every day and try again

Our hope is that they might act as useful prompts and sources of encouragement for restorative leaders in a variety of contexts.

We would like this to be an ongoing dialogue, so please share your own experiences and thoughts with us on our posts on LinkedIn. Once all of the reflection aids have been published and we have digested additional feedback and insights we hope to hold an online event to discuss these topics together and think about what’s next.

You can find the reflection aids and more information about how they were developed at the link below:

New Trustee joins The Mint House

We are delighted to announce we have a new trustee joining the board at The Mint House.

We’re delighted to welcome Christine Plews as a new trustee. A long-time resident in Oxford, Christine brings rich experience from her career as a family solicitor, her specialism in family mediation, and training in psychodynamic psychotherapy and systemic family therapy.

Christine says:

“I am interested in getting involved with Restorative Justice because I think that the big conflicts of our time, can be traced back to seeing people as 'the other' and the ways of relating we have to people who do not hold the same view as ourselves or are different in some way.

I think that these ways start in childhood and how we learn to relate with one another in families and our local communities and that the macro of disputes could be lessened by the micro of our personal relationships.”

We look forward to the experience and wisdom Christine will bring to our team.

Welcome to Hannah Fleming-Hill

We are really pleased to welcome Hannah Fleming-Hill to the Mint House team providing partial maternity leave cover as Communications Officer. While Joy is on maternity leave Hannah will be supporting our events, social media and network communications. Hannah brings rich experience of events management, digital content creation and more.

Hannah is a digital missioner and comms consultant passionate about using social media and tech for good. She works with organisations and churches across the country supporting their digital work and is also studying at Spurgeon's College doing an MA in Digital Theology.

She lives on the sunny south coast in a small town outside of Bournemouth with her husband and their rescue french bulldog. She enjoys getting out in nature, whether that be walks in the nearby forest or swimming/kayaking/paddleboarding in the sea.  

“I'm looking forward to supporting The Mint House over this next year and hopefully I can keep the amazing work Joy has done going until her return.”

Trustee Appointment - Ruby Hakel

We are pleased to welcome a new trustee, Ruby Hakel, to The Mint House team as Treasurer.

Ruby has degrees in Accounting (Cairo University) and Islamic Studies (Al Azhar University).

After moving to the UK 11 years ago, she worked for many years as a volunteer in an Arabic School (teaching both children and adults) and has a passion for making Islamic teaching easy to approach and understand, especially for the youth.

Ruby also is a trustee for Transition Lighthouse Empowerment Space and enjoys her community roles as community champion and walk leader.

Restorative Parenting Podcast

We have produced a podcast on the use of restorative approaches in parenting! Do you use restorative justice and practice in your professional work or volunteering but want to explore how to use it at home?

The Restorative Parenting podcast is a space to talk about how we can incorporate restorative principles into family life. None of us are experts in parenting (or want to add to the noise of ‘parenting advice’) but wanted to gather to discuss our own highs and lows of restorative parenting and how we can find support and learn from each other.

Hosted by Joy Bettles (Communications and Development Officer, The Mint House), each episode features three guests who all work professionally in restorative justice and also have young children:

-       Dr Justine Andreu Darling (Coordinator, Certificate in Restorative Justice Leadership & Facilitation, University of San Diego)

-       Dr Crystena Parker-Shandal (Associate Professor, Renison University College, University of Waterloo)

-       Dr Lindsey Pointer (Assistant Professor, Vermont Law and Graduate School and the Principal Investigator of the National Center on Restorative Justice)

In this initial 4-episode season, we cover these topics:

-       What is restorative parenting?

-       Highs and lows of restorative parenting

-       Helping our children develop emotional awareness and vocabulary

-       Working through sibling conflict and rivalry

-       Building our own capacity for restorative responses

We would also love to hear from you! How do you approach parenting as a restorative person? What would you add to our discussion? Send us a message on social media or email joy@minthouseoxford.co.uk. We are hoping to organise online meetups to gather like-minded parents together (the first will be on the 22nd of May 2023).

You can subscribe/follow now so that you are notified as soon as each episode is released! Episodes will be released weekly throughout April and May 2023.

Trustee Appointment - Dr Matthew Mills

The Mint House is pleased to welcome a new trustee, Dr Matthew Mills, to the team. Matthew is Head of Development at Durham Cathedral and an academic theologian whose work explores the theological dynamics of restorative justice. In particular, Matthew will support the team with our strategic planning and research life.

Living and working in Oxford for over a decade, including as a lecturer in Theology and Medieval Studies within the University, Matthew was closely involved in the research project which gave rise to The Mint House in 2015. Today, alongside his role at Durham Cathedral, Matthew is an honorary fellow within the Department of Theology and Religion, Durham University, and a senior member of St Chad’s College, Durham; he is also a longstanding senior member of Regent’s Park College, Oxford.

In 2021, Matthew published Forgiveness and Restorative Justice: Perspectives from Christian Theology (Palgrave Macmillan), together with two fellow trustees of The Mint House, Myra Blyth and Michael Taylor. This book, part of Palgrave’s innovative “Pivot” series, considers the epistemic value of Christian theology for understanding the theory and practice of restorative justice.

More about this book and Matthew’s work can be found on his website.

Jon Keyworth is running the Oxford Half Marathon!

Jon Keyworth is running the Oxford Half Marathon for us in October. Please sponsor him as he raises money for The Mint House and attempts to run it in under 1 hour 40 minutes (an impressive time)!

"I have been a trustee of The Mint House since 2020 and I have seen how beneficial restorative approaches can be in building healthy, respectful relationships and repairing harm where there’s been crime or conflict. I am particularly interested in the ways in which restorative practice can be used to address conflict in educational settings and in faith communities.

In order to continue facilitating this important and transformative work, The Mint House needs to raise funds to meet its costs, so I am running the Oxford Half Marathon to raise money towards this."

As a very small charity, we rely on the generosity of others to continue our work. A little goes a long way for us! Sponsoring Jon is one way to contribute to our important work of increasing knowlege and use of restorative practice in Oxford and beyond.

An anonymous donor has offered to match all donations (up to £250) so your sponsorship will go even further.

Could you be our new Treasurer?

About us
The Mint House is an Oxford-based charity working to grow restorative justice and practice in our city, county and beyond.  We think restorative approaches have an important part to play in building healthy, respectful relationships and repairing harm where there’s been crime or conflict.

In 2021 we worked towards the wider and more effective use of restorative practice through network events, training, and communications. We are a registered training provider with the Restorative Justice Council.

You can find out more here: https://www.minthouseoxford.co.uk/the-mint-house

Who we are looking for
We are seeking a treasurer to lead on Mint House financial management, including:

• Bookkeeping and annual accounts

• Budget preparation

• Payroll and pension contributions

Your skills will be vital in ensuring our long-term viability and enabling restorative approaches to benefit everyone.

Expectations
The Trustee Board meets 6 times a year in central Oxford in a hybrid format. This is a voluntary position, though travel or other expenses will be reimbursed. Local (Oxfordshire) knowledge and networks will be advantageous.

Induction will be given and we’ll make provision for any necessary training and support required to help you fulfil the role. You will have an opportunity to develop new skills, and to shape the strategic direction of the charity. As a relatively young charity, with one part-time staff member, there are many ways you could make a positive impact.

The deadline for applications is: Monday September 12th 2022.

We’re confident you’ll find this role rewarding. If you’d like to make a restorative difference to people and communities, please read the full role specification below and get in touch with Rosie Chadwick (Chair of Trustees) to find out more:
Email: rp@minthouseoxford.co.uk
Mobile: 07568 135866

The Mint House awarded Registered Training Provider status with the Restorative Justice Council

The Mint House and the Restorative Justice Council are pleased to announce that The Mint House have been awarded Registered Training Provider status.

The Mint House, Oxford Centre for Restorative Practice, aims to raise awareness of, and access to, restorative practice across a range of settings.

“Trainers are highly skilled in adapting training to meet the specific requirements of commissioners and course participants across a range of sectors”

- RJC Registration Decision Report (December 2021)

The Mint House became a training organisation in 2019. To date the majority of training has been commissioned by Oxfordshire County Council with courses including:

• Introduction to Restorative Practice

• Restorative Practice for Managers

• Restorative Practice Practitioner Skills Course

More recently we have started to offer open access courses, notably:

• Introduction to Restorative Practice for staff working in higher education

“I am delighted that The Mint House have been awarded the RJC’s Registered Training Provider status. By meeting the standards set out in our Registered Training Provider Framework, course participants and commissioners can be confident in the quality of training being provided.”

-  Jim Simon, the RJC’s chief executive

“We're really pleased to become an RJC registered training provider. This external validation means those accessing or commissioning our training can have confidence in its quality. The RJC's standards framework also provides a great platform for continuing to develop and refine our training offer.”

- Rosie Chadwick, The Mint House’s Chair of Trustees

To find out more about the Restorative Justice Council visit their website.