Community Restorative Justice Academy Launched

This exciting new Academy immediately offers the most comprehensive programme of training and formal qualifications in Community Restorative Justice and Practice throughout the entire United Kingdom.

The Community Restorative Justice Academy is a partnership between;

• The Centre for Rural Childhood, Perth College UHI Millennium Institute.
• Restorative Solutions, Community Interest Company
• Safety Net Associates - National BTEC Centre.

Available will be a full range of blended learning opportunities to meet all organisational and individual needs to allow students to enter or progress through the emerging professions within Community Restorative Justice and Practice.

This strategic partnership will be able to provide trained and qualified professionals, whose skills will be formally recognised throughout the entire UK and Abroad.

The taught offerings will range from straight forward training to BTEC qualifications for practitioners and trainers of practitioners, a Post Graduate Certificate and the incremental development of a Diploma and Masters Degree in Restorative Practice. All of our blended learning options will encompass a range of learning techniques from online to traditional training and education.

The Academy will have the ability to rapidly create formal qualifications for emerging professional areas and practitioners in Community Restorative Justice and Practice. It will also adopt any emerging formal qualifications in Community Restorative Justice and Practice if they are suitable to meet the needs of the private, public and third party sector involved in this field, such as the Skills for Justice Diploma in Restorative Practice presently being piloted, and any others recognised by UK qualification frameworks.

We are able to deliver taught training through our existing university network of BTEC qualifications for all of our new offerings, as well as in-house if required.

Previously delivered training, from any source, may be capable of being converted to formal qualifications via Accredited Prior Learning through the National BTEC Centre, if it meets the required academic standards and practice.

Statements from the delivery partners:

 Professor Rebecca Wallace - Director Centre for Rural Childhood

“The Centre for Rural Childhood, Perth College UHI Millennium Institute (The CRC) will bring to the Restorative Academy a suite of programmes at Post Graduate level. In the immediate this will be a Post Graduate Certificate in Restorative Practice, which is scheduled for validation in September and offered on line in January 2011. However it is anticipated that this is the first step in incremental development of a Diploma and Masters qualification in Restorative Practice.

The Centre for Rural Childhood will also continue to work with relevant stakeholders in the Scottish restorative justice sector.”

Sir Charles Pollard QPM - Chairman Restorative Solutions, Community Interest Company

“We are pleased to be working in a strategic alliance with Safety Net Associates and the UHI Millennium Institute.  Our coalition will meet the diverse needs of individuals and organisations by providing a unique arrangement   under the umbrella of the Community Restorative Justice Academy.  The Academy allows us to combine our successful practitioner training   modules with relevant and bespoke academic qualifications and allows the partners to collectively meet the ever increasing demand from Restorative Justice Practitioners for formal qualifications and opportunities for the continuous professional development of their skills.”

Bob Kennett - Chairman of Safety Net Associates said

“Through the delivery of our National Neighbourhood Justice BTEC Programme, where we qualify strategic managers to understand and implement skills in a Community Safety Partnership setting, it became evident in the field of community restorative justice and practice that a comprehensive formal education programme, to complement existing training was needed for individuals to be able plan a career path through community restorative justice and practice.

Our qualified student body told us that they and their organisations needed an ‘end to end’ training and qualification path that evidenced formal and practical learning across all Community Safety Partnership arenas so they could get on with the job of community restorative practice and approaches to enrich communities.

I believe the Community Restorative Justice Academy have brought together the leaders in the field throughout the UK who will finally meet the needs of individuals in all Community Safety Partnerships and third sector partners in delivering high quality Community Restorative Justice and Practice qualifications and training.”

For further details about the Community Restorative Justice Academy please visit http://www.cspacademy.ac.uk/Restorative-Justice-Academy.shtml email  restorativejustice@cspacademy.ac.uk, or call 0845 269 1417.