Training & Consulting

In schools, IIRP Canada can provide ongoing support for your Restorative Practices implementation plan. This can include (but is not limited to) planning with leadership teams, leading circles with staff, co-planning of Professional Learning Communities, and digging deeper with interactive sessions to help support the unique and individual needs of each community.

In workplace settings, strategic implementation is a key component to unlocking the benefits of restorative practices beyond professional development experiences. In workplace settings, it increases productivity, promotes innovation, and enhances employee retention, commitment, and satisfaction. In communities and schools, it fosters a relational approach that brings together varied perspectives to build strong social capital. Across disciplines and industries, this increased engagement fosters teamwork and effectively solves problems.

Through coaching and consulting, we build upon your experience and the specific needs in your setting. Our approach is goal-oriented, people-focused, and engaging. Key benefits include:

• Effective problem-solving and conflict resolution skill development
• Improved relationships, communication, respect, and trust
• Practical processes that provide transparency and shared knowledge
• Improved decision-making and risk management
• Fostering relational resilience to improve collaboration and increase innovation

Customized solutions can include:

• Scaling restorative practices, programs, and policies
• Targeted professional development
• Leadership coaching and consulting
• Stakeholder management
• Data collection and analysis
• Teambuilding and development

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Advanced Experience and Essential Skills for Facilitators

What is a listening circle?

Listening circles are a specific type of circle designed to help people process an event or issue that poses a challenge or harm to their communities or has impacted people in a significant way. They are voluntary, community-oriented forums aimed at providing an equitable opportunity for all attendees to have voice. Listening circles can be used in a variety of settings, including communities, workplaces, schools, organizations, neighborhoods, universities, and within families. They have roots in indigenous cultures and are backed by research in interdisciplinary studies.

They are not focused on problem solving, dialogue, or debating. They are meant for creating a space for expressing, listening, processing, and community building.

Why are skilled facilitators crucial for leading listening circles?

Just like any tool that is improperly used, harm can be done. Since listening circles cover topics that may evoke strong emotion from participants, having the proper experience on crafting questions, keeping participants on track, and creating spaces for people to confidently express themselves is key. It is important to fully participate in the process. Please come ready to discuss your thoughts and feelings after reflecting on the following questions:

• Am I prepared to listen deeply to those I may not agree with?
• Am I prepared to share my experience and perspective even if others disagree with me?
• Am I prepared to sit in discomfort?
• Do you have an apprehension about attending and if so can you share it with someone?
• Will you be able to address the apprehension and still participate?
• Do I have support if I am unable to continue with the process?
• Do I have support after the process to connect with and share?

General Topics Include:

• The skills and important considerations to becoming a skilled listening circle facilitator.
• Practical documents and tools, such as sample scripts and emails, to prepare participants.

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Incidents of conflict, wrongdoing, and harm occur everywhere, every day in schools, workplaces, university campuses, neighborhoods, and families. The restorative justice conference provides a way to engage with those who cause and experience harm, along with the related community.

General topics include:

• The fundamentals of facilitating a formal conference in response to an incident of wrongdoing or harm create an authentic sense of community and belonging.
• Create deeper interpersonal understanding and repair relationships among those involved or affected by such an incident.
• The process includes determining the readiness of all those involved (person who was harmed, person who caused the harm, supporters), organizing the meeting and facilitating the meeting.

Designed For:
K-12 teachers, staff, and administrators, members of the criminal justice field, and other organizations. This experience is applicable to other audiences, but examples used come from school and criminal justice settings.

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Foster positive classroom and school culture

Building and strengthening relationships and community is a critical component of school culture. Restorative practices is an essential process for creating a positive learning environment, building social capital, and resolving relational issues.

During this two-day introductory experience, you will learn the fundamental theory and practices for engaging with students, staff, and parents in your school setting.

General Topics Include:

• The importance of being explicit about practice.
• How to set high expectations while being supportive.
• Ways to build community in your setting.
• Giving direct feedback and asking questions that foster accountability.
• Utilizing effective methods to resolve common conflicts.

Participants learn to apply the restorative practices continuum, understanding which restorative processes are best for achieving certain goals or responding to particular situations. We will focus specifically on facilitating circles, an essential process for creating a positive learning environment and school culture. Circles can be used both proactively and responsively to build social capital, sustain relationships, address social problems, and respond when harm occurs. Participants will spend time planning circles to use in their schools immediately.

Designed For:
K-12 teachers, staff, administrators. This experience is applicable to other audiences, but school-based examples are used.

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When independent schools integrate restorative practices into their administrative and academic methods, they establish a culture of collaborative leadership that strengthens connections among all community members and provides students with transferable leadership skills crucial to personal, academic, and professional success.

This learning experience focuses on applying restorative processes at the individual, relational, and systemic levels with students and adults. During this two-day introductory event, you will learn fundamental theory and practices for engaging with students, staff, and parents.

General topics include:

• Striking a balance between setting high expectations and providing support.
• Understanding the role of emotions as catalysts for words and actions.
• Providing direct feedback and asking questions that foster accountability.
• Using the most effective methods to resolve common conflicts.
• Facilitate circles, an essential process for creating a positive learning environment and school culture.

Designed For:
PK-12 teachers, staff, and administrators working in independent schools.

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Prepare your team to teach others the key concepts of restorative practices designed for their professional development by completing our Fundamentals of Restorative Practices training or our Restorative Conferencing training. Learn how to assist in the sustainable implementation of restorative practices in your school or organization.

This interactive event teaches experienced restorative practitioners how to deliver the training modules to their own colleagues, using our materials to provide training either in person or online.

This interactive training will include:

• Review of IIRP training modules.
• Participant preparation and presentation of content.
• Discussion of best practices for training implementation.
• Professional development maps that include learning outcomes and objectives.
• Suggestions for how to deliver the instruction online based on our years of experience with distance learning.
• Support for creating modules unique to your situation, if you are unable to deliver the materials as suggested by the IIRP.
• Facilitated conversation about the integration of the IIRP materials with other initiatives.

IIRP Canada provides a cost-effective way to implement and sustain Restorative Practices in your school community or organization. Through our Train the Trainers events, we can equip your staff to deliver basic Restorative Practices professional development.

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