AGM marks successful year for Mediation Plus

Members of MediationPlus gathered last week at their Annual General Meeting in Hailsham to celebrate seven successful years as the community mediation service for Eastbourne and Wealden. After having come close to closure in early 2011 due to funding cuts, Chair of Trustees Barbara Molog presented the charity’s latest Annual Report which showed a year of continued progress in delivering mediation services across the area – including the Time 2 Talk service for young people and their families – and developing community based mediation training projects to spread mediation skills into new areas.

Presenting her report to the meeting, Barbara said “The past year has seen steadily growth in our activities while keeping a very tight reign on expenditure. Our success in renewing the funding of our Time2Talk service with BBC Children in Need has provided a key platform on which to develop that service over the next three years, while support from Wealden District Council, Eastbourne Borough Council, Wealden and Eastbourne Community Safety Partnerships, and other Parish and Town Councils has ensured we have been able to support the costs of an increased number of neighbour dispute referrals during the year.”

Barbara thanked retiring Trustees Pam Hart and David Hines for their work over the past 12 months and welcomes new Trustees Caroline Adcock and Wendy Shuttleworth who were elected at the meeting. The meeting also welcomed Sussex Police new Wealden District Commander Gary Pike to the new Mediation Plus Board as the service continues to develop close working relationships with their local Neighbourhood Policing Teams.

Delivering his report, Service and Development Manager Clive Gross highlighted the success of the two pilot community mediation training projects that have been delivered in 2013 and the recruitment of two cohorts of new accredited volunteer mediators to the service.

Special Guest Speaker Miriam Wilkinson from 3VA’s Speak-Up Forum then told the meeting about a new project looking to develop the use of Restorative Justice in Sussex and how mediators and mediation skills could be used to help deliver it. Clive Gross added “We are very excited to be part of this project as Restorative Justice is very close to our work in resolving disputes without the need for legal action. We hope it will become part of what we can offer the local community over the coming years in conjunction with our local partners.”

Double Celebration at Mediation Plus

Last Saturday marked a double celebration at Mediation Plus, as our latest intake of volunteer mediators and five new Trustees joined the service. Following an appeal through the media, a range of local people put themselves forward as potential Trustees and were interviewed by Mediation Plus Chair, John Gallop.

John commented “We were delighted with the interest shown in our service and the range of backgrounds and experience of the people coming forward. With a strong group of Trustees and a growing pool of trained mediators, we are now in a great position to secure the future of Mediation Plus and engage even more widely in the communities we serve.”

Among those joining as Trustees are local Parish Councillor Barbara Molog, former Sussex Police hostage negotiator and mediator Ross Hollister, former head teacher and Royal Marine David Hines, Australian born psychologist and counsellor Deborah Marlin, and specialist management consultant Jonathan Christian.

Presenting certificates to the new volunteer mediators, John added “The response to our new accredited mediation training courses has been great, but covering such a big geographical area as Wealden, Eastbourne and Lewes means we need to maintain a large group of volunteers, so we will be running our next course in September, which we hope will give us over 50 mediators covering the area.”

Anyone interested in training to become a mediator should contact Training Coordinator Joan Eades at Mediation Plus on 01323 442781 or email info@mediation-plus.org.uk for an application pack. There will also be an Open Morning in September where you can find out more about the course and meet some of the current team of mediators. More details about Mediation Plus and our range of services is available on our website

Mediation Plus launches Get to Go Workshops

Following successful bids to Awards for All and the East Sussex County Council Seedcorn Fund, Mediation Plus are delighted to announce our new Get to Go workshop pilot programme for young people aged 16-25 in the Wealden, Lewes and Eastbourne district areas.

The one-day workshops are designed to help improve the participants confidence and communication skills as they look to access further or higher education, training, employment or even self-employment.

To keep the process simple, applications for places on the workshops can be made via the on-line booking form, accessed through the programme web page. Applications should be made directly by the participant and we will confirm the final date and venue of the workshop in their area with them, subject to the demand from in each area.

You can also follow and get the latest news on workshop dates and venues by joining the programmes Facebook and Twitter pages.

Mediation Plus become nationally recognised Training Provider

Mediation Plus – the community mediation service covering Eastbourne, Wealden and Lewes - has successfully achieved Training Provider Status with Open College Network London Region. This new development will enable Mediation Plus to offer accredited courses in Mediation and related conflict resolution and communication skills. All training will be delivered at level 3 and offer the participants the opportunity to benefit from the experience and knowledge of their team of mediators.

The Open College Network is a not-for-profit registered charity, which comprises nine regional networks across England. With over 25 years experience in the education sector, they lead the market in the recognition of achievement through credit-based units and qualifications, delivered to learners from 14 years upwards. Dedicated to widening participation, social inclusion, employer engagement and lifelong learning for all, they support flexible, responsive and quality assured learning opportunities.

Joan Eades, Training Development Manager at Mediation Plus said “We are delighted to now be able to offer our courses as nationally recognised qualifications, which reflects the level of professionalism of the training we have been providing our mediators for many years. It also gives us the flexibility to offer Continuing Professional Development not only to our mediators, but to other organisations, businesses or individuals in our area.”

The first accredited course, Developing Mediation Theory and Practice Skills, will be held at the Mediation Plus offices in Hailsham on November 19^th, 26th and December 3^rd. The course will cover step-by-step mediation process, how to use different questioning styles, encouraging participation in mediation, confidentiality and impartiality, and ethical and professional standards

Anyone interested in booking a place on the course should contact Joan Eades at Mediation Plus on 01323 442781 or email info@mediation-plus.org.uk for an application pack.

Mediation Plus out and about

The Mediation Plus team have been out and about this week letting people know about the services we offer. Service Development Manager Clive Gross was a guest speaker at the Eatbourne and Wealden Landlords Forum talking about how mediation can help resolve disputes between Landlords and Tenants without having to resort to the Courts, while Time2Talk coordinator Joan Eades was at the Fresher's Fair at Sussex Downs College in Lewes, talking to staff and students about our intergenerational mediation service.

If you organise an event and would be interested in having us along to explain more about who we are and what we do, please get in touch!