Relational and Restorative Practice Community of Inquiry Group

This interactive seminar explores how the Prosocial Matrix, a practical tool rooted in Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT), can help individuals and teams communicate more effectively, navigate challenges, and build stronger relationships. Led by Sue Knight, this session will introduce self-awareness techniques, shared values exploration, and strategies to foster trust and collaboration in workplaces, communities, and personal relationships.

📍 Location: Oasis Centre, Portsmouth
📅 Date: Thursday, 3 April 2025
⏰ Time: 9:30 AM – 11:30 AM (Networking from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM)

This event is part of the Relational and Restorative Practice Community of Inquiry Group.

Book here

Session #6: Healthy Conversations & Making Every Contact Count in Portsmouth

Date: Thursday 1st May

Time: 9.30am - 11.30am (venue open from 9am - 12noon for extra coffee/networking)

Location: Oasis Centre, Arundel Street, Portsmouth, PO1 1NP

Rob Anderson-Weaver is a Public Health Workforce Development Lead at Portsmouth City Council, apart from the long title, Rob also has a huge interest in learning & development, simplifying behavioural science and helping people get the best out of their interactions with people they support.

In 2024 Rob worked with 100's of individuals from a wide range of backgrounds and professions in the city - all unified in a desire or need to 'help' Using Healthy Conversation Skills and Making Every Contact Count to deliver person centred, and relational practice regardless of the setting.

Join Rob to hear about the growth of Healthy Conversation Skills in Portsmouth, how we can demystify the art of 'helping' others and some practical practice examples from around the City.

Learning outcomes

• Learn and understand the Healthy Conversation Skills philosophy
• Learn techniques to get people talking about health & wellbeing
• Learn SMARTER system for achieving sustainable change
• Learn how your organisation can support relational practice with the training

Who Should Attend?

This session is for anyone who wants to communicate better, work more effectively with others, or build stronger relationships, whether at work, in the community, or in personal life. If you're looking for ways to handle tricky conversations, strengthen teamwork, and create positive connections, this workshop will give you hands-on tools to do just that.

Portsmouth Mediation Service are supporting us with discounted use of their facilities, tea and coffee, and an excellent snack selection!

If you have any questions about this event, please contact civicuniversity@port.ac.uk

This seminar is hosted by the Relational and Restorative Practice Community of Inquiry Group. There are always a variety of interesting people attending and it's a great way to connect with others.

Book here

Staff Safety and Wellbeing in the Presence of Trauma

Date: Thursday 5th June

Time: 9.30am - 11.30am (venue open from 9am - 12noon for extra coffee/networking)

Location: Oasis Centre, Arundel Street, Portsmouth, PO1 1NP

Dr Lisa Sugiura and Professor Peter Lee from the University of Portsmouth will focus on staff safety and wellbeing in the presence of trauma. Lisa and Pete have both experienced trauma in the course of their work and endeavour to prepare others for the unpredictable and complex responses that individuals may experience in either work or everyday life.

Lisa’s research on online gender-based violence has involved her immersion in deeply misogynistic and discriminatory web spaces, interacting with extremist groups, and supporting victim-survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence.

Pete has been a military chaplain during war time, undertaken field work with RAF military drone crews as they conducted surveillance and lethal strikes, and surveyed the mental health and wellbeing of police child sex crime investigators.

Their aim for this session is to raise awareness of vicarious trauma (whether disclosed or undisclosed) and its impact on staff wellbeing.

Pete and Lisa will share their personal and professional experiences and look forward to open and sensitive discussion with participants.

Portsmouth Mediation Service are supporting us with discounted use of their facilities, tea and coffee, and an excellent snack selection!

If you have any questions about this event, please contact civicuniversity@port.ac.uk

This seminar is hosted by the Relational and Restorative Practice Community of Inquiry Group. There are always a variety of interesting people attending and it's a great way to connect with others.

Accessibility and special requirements: We will endeavour to provide particular access requirements on request. If you have any access requirements, e.g. wheelchair access, hearing loops or specific neurodiverse requirements, please get in touch by Tuesday 27th May.

Parking: Parking in Portsmouth is extremely limited, we encourage you to use the train, bus, cycle routes, or the city’s Park ‘n’ Ride facility.

Book here

More information will be available soon.

More information will be available soon.

Bec Mason is the Relational and Restorative Practice in Schools Implementation Lead for Portsmouth and is delighted to be part of the relationships revolution our world so clearly needs. Bec is well practised in applying this approach in education, social work, sex offender treatment,
parenting, in the Local Authority, with leaders and in the community. 

Tools for Effective Conversations are transformative in the board room, the living room the court room and the classroom! We'll practice models that might surprise you with their ease of applicability and powerful positive impact.

More information will be available soon.

More information will be available soon.

Elle is a Clinical Associate Psychologist for Solent NHS Trust. Her research on self-compassion highlights how this misunderstood skill is crucial for health, performance, and relationships. Interventions that raise levels of self-compassion demonstrate improvements in many areas of life, including workplaces, and even elite athlete and footballer performance. Berating ourselves is a natural response to mistakes, but such a response can cause you to miss learning opportunities. The more self-compassionate you are, the faster you recover from failure and take the learning forward. Elle's talk will give an overview of evidence for the intervention, her current research in the application of Mindful Self-Compassion for NHS staff burnout, and an opportunity to try an experiential MSC practice.

The University of Portsmouth's School of Health and Care Professions hosted a workshop sharing insights from a recent community engagement project. Using the Restorative Practice continuum, this initiative invited Portsmouth community members to engage in meaningful conversations with academics about the training of health and care professionals. The aim was to build relationships that empower the community to influence the University’s approach to health and social care education.

The workshop introduced the concept of community conversations and guided attendees in creating their own spaces for active listening and action-driven dialogue, fostering deeper collaboration between universities and local communities.

This insightful seminar, hosted by the Relational and Restorative Practice Community of Inquiry Group, explored how restorative principles can transform leadership and teamwork, fostering collaboration, creativity, and productivity. Led by John Swindell, an experienced trainer and coach in restorative practice, the session examined how individualism and unresolved conflict impact workplace well-being and efficiency. By adopting restorative approaches, leaders and teams can build stronger relationships, reduce stress, and enhance creativity—offering a radically different way of working beyond traditional leadership models.

Thank you for joining us for the first session of our learning seminar series at the Oasis Centre, which focused on Schwartz Rounds. This seminar explored how these sessions can help healthcare professionals reflect on the emotional aspects of caring for patients, enhancing their ability to provide compassionate care. It was perfect for professionals looking to deepen their understanding and practice of empathetic patient care.

For more information on future events and to reserve a spot, please see above.

Thank You for Joining Us!

We were thrilled to host the Restorative Relationships in Practice Conference on July 15th, 2024, at the University of Portsmouth's Eldon Building. This event continued our successful series of quarterly workshops from 2023, bringing together practitioners from public and voluntary sectors, academics, and the public in Portsmouth. Supported by NHS Workforce Training and Employment and Portsmouth's Health and Wellbeing Board, along with the University of Portsmouth's Civic Strategy, the conference deepened understanding and developed participants' skills in restorative and relational approaches.

Key Highlights:

• Keynote Speaker: Peter Leonard, Chief Executive at The Centre for Emotional Health, set the stage with a keynote on the impact of emotional health initiatives.

Featured Talks and Workshops:

• Molly Penney and Charlie Roberts (Portsmouth City Council): Presented on relational community engagement.
• Melanie Tanner, Sarah Harper, and Dr. Jason Oakley (University of Portsmouth): Demonstrated a Schwartz Round focused on memorable personal experiences.
• Dr. Lisa Sugiura and Professor Peter Lee (University of Portsmouth): Explored staff safety and wellbeing in the presence of trauma.
• Laura Hyman (University of Portsmouth): Talked about workplace wellbeing and the sociology of happiness.
• Ellenor Gray (Solent NHS Trust): Discussed self-compassion for frontline workers.
• Bec Mason (Portsmouth City Council): Led a masterclass on tools for effective conversations.
• Jenni Wessels (University of Portsmouth): Hosted a workshop on using restorative principles for community decision-making.
• John Swindell: Delivered insights on restorative leadership and team building.
• Rob Anderson-Weaver and Dr. Nicola Barnes (University of Portsmouth): Evaluated the impact of Making Every Contact Count training for pharmacy students.
• Sue Knight (University of Portsmouth): Explored using the Pro-social Model to embed relational practice in public services.

Exhibitors:

• The Roberts Centre (www.robertscentre.org.uk): Focused on restorative practices for supporting families and children.
• Portsmouth Mediation Service (portsmouthmediationservice.org.uk): Advocated for establishing Portsmouth as a Restorative City.
• URBOND (www.urbond.org): Promoted racial harmony and community integration.
• RJ Hampshire (www.rjhampshire.org.uk): Offered a platform for Restorative Justice practices.
• Portsmouth Parent Voice (www.portsmouthparentvoice.org): Highlighted the role of restorative practice in supporting parent carers.
• Chat over Chai (www.chatoverchai.uk): Addressed social isolation and promoted community cohesion.
• Fighting with Pride (www.fightingwithpride.org.uk): Discussed the restoration of rights and recognition for LGBT+ veterans.
• East Hampshire District Council & Dementia Friendly Petersfield (www.easthants.gov.uk/dementia-festival): Organised annual events to support people with dementia.
• Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust (www.porthosp.nhs.uk/research): Highlighted ongoing research and innovation in healthcare.

Looking Forward: We are excited to build on the success of this conference with further events and initiatives. Stay tuned for future opportunities to engage with our community!

Acknowledgements: Thank you to all who attended and contributed to making this event a success. Your participation and enthusiasm help drive the ongoing impact of restorative and relational approaches across communities.

For any further inquiries about past or upcoming events, or if you would like to request contact details or a copy of the presentation slides shared by the speakers, please get in touch with civicuniversity@port.ac.uk.

Increasingly public bodies and organisations are looking to co-production partnerships to tackle social problems. This seminar will provide examples of co-production in practice and the ways in which these change and challenge the traditional approach to how research/information gathering is planned, implemented and reported. A key focus of the seminar will be on how using relational and restorative practices can ensure a more authentic approach to successful co-production partnerships. Restorative practice promotes ways of working with or alongside people (individually and collectively) to support them to reach their potential, and to contribute in a way that builds on their strengths and what is important to them.

The session will be introduced by Dr Aaron Pycroft (University of Portsmouth, Criminology) followed by three illustrative talks:

• The Sandbox project: A story of co-produced community-led research (Sandbox project core group).

• Using the Pro-Social Model for strong and effective relationships in co-production (Sue Knight, University of Portsmouth)

• Restorative Circles and how to run them (John Swindell)

John Swindell will lead this session sharing concepts of leadership and team working based on Social Control Theory. John has many years of experience in coaching, consulting and training in Restorative Practice - across various social sectors including Education, Health services, Faith organisations, Prison Service, Voluntary and Community Sector and Policing. This seminar session includes a talk from John, and an opportunity to reflect on the concepts as they relate to your own team working and leadership experiences. John is an engaging and inspiring speaker with many practical tips and examples to share. 

Seminar 2: "A Relational and Restorative Practice approach in Portsmouth's schools"

This session is an opportunity to hear about and learn from the progress in 'Relational and Restorative Practice' (RRP) in Portsmouth schools. The seminar will set the scene of RRP in schools and why it is important, followed by a case study presentation from Trafalgar School, a leader in this approach. A key question for leaders and practitioners is how do we share the learning and practice from a model of working well in one school, to shape practice in another? What resources do we need, what strategies can we use, (and what support is needed) to grow novel RRP models that suit the different contexts in which they are developing?

The seminar workshops will take place at the Oasis Centre and the first one will be on Thursday 30th March in the morning. The session will take place between 9.30am and 11.30am, and the space will be available from 9.15am-12.00am for networking.

Seminar 1: "Discovering Forgiveness"

This presentation is based on the outcomes of a project between Pushing Change and Dr Aaron Pycroft from University of Portsmouth School of Criminology and Criminal Justice which has co-produced generative principles based on understanding and working with forgiveness to enable discovery of the self when addicted to alcohol and other drugs.

The seminar workshops will take place at the Oasis Centre and the first one will be on Thursday 12th January in the morning. The session will take place between 9.30am and 11.30am, and the space will be available from 9.15am-12.00am for networking.