Principles and Practice of Restorative Just Culture 3-day Programme
COMMENT OUT ANCHOR
Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust and Northumbria University are proud to present our Knowledge Exchange award winning three-day programme on the principle and practices of Restorative Just Culture, which is also part of the learning encouraged in the NHS plan 2020/21, the 2021 Future of NHS Human Resources and Organisational Development report; NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (2023) and the Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF, 2022). Our programme is credit bearing for those who wish to pursue a qualification (30 credits at Level 7).
Northumbria Universities research ‘Restorative Just Culture Interventions: implementation and effectiveness in NHS Trusts’ is at the forefront of research on restorative practice implementation approaches and has been incorporated into our 2026 programmes providing ‘up to date’ insights from 45 NHS Trusts in England.
This programme is for any professionals and practitioners who are involved in the management and welfare of a range of stakeholders (employees, patients, clients) when an adverse event/incident has occurred and/or when an employee relations matter has arisen (including bullying / harassment/ grievances/ disciplinary etc). Participants will learn how to manage these issues in a restorative way that minimises the negative impacts, maximises the learning to develop an organisational culture where people feel safe and one they can trust.
Through practitioner and academic insights, you will learn how to develop, implement and evaluate a restorative just culture in your own organisation. In addition to the learnings from the Research above, you will also learn from the journey of Mersey Care NHS FT who will share their experience of implementing a restorative just culture, from which they have seen a 75% reduction in disciplinary investigations since 2016, and a significant reduction in dismissals and suspensions leading to a substantial reduction in cost despite the organisation more than doubling in size.
It is estimated that over 6,000 workers are currently suspended in the public sector and at a cost upwards of £50 million. This can be because of workplace stress, bullying or harassment that are dealt with in retributive rather than restorative ways which sadly can result in people ending their own lives or suffer long term health and well-being issues. Restorative Just Culture practices recognise the important role played by dealing with adverse events and incidents by asking, who is hurt; what do they need; and whose obligation is it to meet those needs? The success of restorative responses hinges on getting the community involved in collaboratively resolving those questions and arriving at a solution that is respectful to all parties, such as, patients, families, caregivers, organisational representatives, regulators and legal and union representatives. It considers accountability in a forward-looking (rather than punitive, backwards-looking) manner, asking who needs to do what now, given their role and the expectations that come with it.
This CPD programme offers you the opportunity to explore and critically analyse the concepts of Restorative Just Culture approach and how these can be applied within your own organisation and the wider context. A range of techniques, approaches, and the theoretical underpinning them will be reviewed and connection to their application to practice will be explored. This will provide a wider range of knowledge to draw from when working and dealing with adverse events and incidents within the context or your professional role.
If you are interested in taking part in the programme, places can be offered on an individual basis or block organisational bookings (availability depending). For more information please email bl.rjc@northumbria.ac.uk.
The next 3-day programme will be delivered on Wed 18th March, 2026, Thurs 19th March 2026 and Wed 25th March 2026. This will be followed by a further programmes on June 10th, 11th and 17th , and September 8th, 9th and 15th.
Course Information
Award Type Award Type University accreditation, 30 credits at Level 7
Delivery Method Virtual Programme
Duration
3 days over a 2 week period
Sector
Health and Social Care, Leadership and Management, Architecture, Built Environment and Construction, Digital, Tech and Creative, Engineering and Manufacturing, Financial and Legal Services, Social Work and Education, Sport and Wellbeing
Fee
To be confirmed - £1995 per person which will include access to the Northumbria and Merseycare’s Virtual Community or Practice for 1 year.
This programme is available for organisational or combined organisational bookings for up to 60 delegates delivered by experts from Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust and Northumbria University, via our Virtual campus.
We offer select open programme dates to individuals for booking, and closed dates are available for organisational bookings.
Please complete the following form to register your interest for the programme.
This programme would also be of particular interest to professionals an practioners in: health and social care, police, education, Local Government, trade union bodies and in particular, those who are involved with the reporting and management of adverse events or incidents.
In this programme we will address the theory behind Restorative Just Culture and its application in complex organisations, and how to implement this practically in your own organisation. The associated benefits include: better relations with employees, improved staff survey results, less labour conflicts and more motivated colleagues. Accreditation is also offered with this programme.
We will not only show you how to implement a Restorative Just Culture, but also which prerequisites are necessary and which type of organisational philosophy is required. We will explain the difference between retributive and restorative approaches and consider the advantages and disadvantages of each.
We will discuss how a Restorative Just Culture can be evident even without adverse events. We address the role of several professionals in initiating and sustaining a Restorative Just Culture. We will also outline how Mersey Care took an organisational development approach to diagnosing and tailoring its approach through staff engagement.
The programme will cover the following topics:
• Restorative Just Culture: The alternative
• Restorative Just Culture: How to do it - adverse events
• Restorative Just Culture: How to do it - routine work
• Restorative Just Culture: implementing for sustainability
• How to implement restorative just culture
• Compassionate HR
• How to implement from an Organisational, Operational and Human Resources perspective
• Impact and business case
Virtual Campus
This programme is delivered virtually over 3 days over a 2 week period. In addition to the live virtual master and group sessions, you will have access to a range of resources through which you will develop your own restorative just culture implementation and evaluation plan, learning from the insights of Mersey Care NHS FT. You will be introduced to the virtual campus where you will attend live interactive master classes with a subject expert, participating in live discussions and asking questions. In your learning groups you will apply the learning to real cases in a virtual classroom with the help of group facilitators.
1. Understand the theories and concepts that underpin the practices relating to a Restorative Just Culture.
2. Critically analyse the current approach to adverse incidents and events within your own organisation and diagnose where this is in relation to the Restorative Just Culture.
3. Design a framework/plan to implement the Restorative Just Culture within your own organisation and link this to strategic level organisational goals.
4. Learn the 4-step process of managing adverse incidents and events using the framework designed and used within Mersey Care NSH FT.
5. Identify individual and organisational learning needs and utilise learning logs to reflect on individual learning that is needed to support the implementation of a Restorative Just Culture within your own organisation.
To be confirmed - £1995 per person which will include access to the Northumbria and Merseycare’s Virtual Community or Practice for 1 year.
