Hastings & Rother Mediation Service

Welcome to the Hastings and Rother Mediation Service web site - text only version.

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Hastings & Rother Mediation Service is a local charitable organisation dedicated to developing constructive means of resolving conflicts in communities.

click here to find out about us
click here to find out about mediation in general
click here to find out about intergenerational mediation - Time 2 Talk
click here to find out about community mediation
click here to find out about peer mediation
click here to find out about other mediation
click here to get our contact details
click here to see details of our key people
click here to see links to Mediation UK and the Community Legal Service
click here for training and resources
click here to find out about becoming a volunteer
click here to read clients' feedback

ABOUT HASTINGS AND ROTHER MEDIATION SERVICE.

Hastings & Rother Mediation Service is a local charitable organisation dedicated to developing constructive means of resolving conflicts in communities.

We were founded in 1995. Since then many people in the Hastings & Rother area have benefited from using our service to help resolve their disputes. Hastings & Rother Mediation Service was the first in the Country to gain the Community Legal Service Quality Mark in Community Mediation (although the Legal Services Commission have now withdrawn this category of Quality Mark).

Please use this page to learn more about us and how we can help. We tell you about the different types of mediation, what is involved, and how to contact us by phone or email. If you are interested in becoming one of our volunteers, we give you some background on the work involved.

What is Mediation is next or click here to return to the top of the page

WHAT IS MEDIATION?

It is a way of helping people to discuss problems and reach a solution acceptable to everyone involved through listening, supporting and guiding each party towards resolving their problems. Mediation sessions are voluntary, and arrangements reached are not legally binding. The service is free, confidential*, impartial and independent.

WHEN SHOULD I GO TO MEDIATION?

Where possible the best way to sort out a problem is informally between yourself and the other party. However this is not always possible without outside help. This is when Mediation can be useful, and its use does not prevent clients from seeking legal advice at any time.

WHO DOES IT?

Mediation is carried out by specially trained volunteers from the local community, who work in pairs.

THE BENEFITS OF MEDIATION

The service is FREE.
YOU ARE IN CONTROL - you can withdraw at any time during the process and nothing is done without your full agreement.
Mediators are IMPARTIAL - they do not take sides.
The service is CONFIDENTIAL* - all sessions are conducted in private and any information given during the process is regarded by members of the Mediation Service as strictly confidential.
The service is INDEPENDENT - it is community based with an independent Management Committee. It has no legal powers and is independent of the Police, the local Council and any other authority or organisation. It works according to the Code of Practice laid down by the national body, Mediation UK.

* Confidentiality is subject to child protection requirements.

Intergenerational Mediation is next or click here to return to the top of the page

INTERGENERATIONAL MEDIATION

Time 2 Talk

Problems communicating?

Can't live under the same roof?
Do you hate going home?
Missing your home/family?
Difficulties seeing grandchildren/grandparents?
Dread your child coming in or not coming in?
Are you at your wits end?

Constant battles over:

house rules?
money?
studying?
alcohol?

Every family has arguments from time to time, particularly teenagers and parents. Sometimes this can lead to family breakdown. Time 2 Talk helps people to talk and listen to each other, and work towards better communication and understanding. We offer help to improve/restore communications with your family, whoever you consider your family to be - whether living together or apart.

Individual Meetings:

We can talk to you on your own about family difficulties.

Indirect/Shuttle Mediation:

We can help you to re-establish contact or simply stay in contact with your family, by passing information backwards and forwards.

Joint Meetings:

Mediators can bring you and your family together to discuss relationships in a safe space.

Community Mediation is next or click here to return to the top of the page

COMMUNITY MEDIATION

Are you troubled by

Noise from neighbours?
Harassment or abuse?
Boundary disputes?
Children's behaviour?
Pets' behaviour?
Parking disputes ?

These are just some of the problems the Mediation Service can help with.

HOW DOES MEDIATION WORK?

Step 1:

If you have a problem you can approach us direct through this web site, or by phone or letter.

Step 2:

Two Mediators from the Service will then contact you to arrange a mutually convenient time and date for a home visit and, if agreed, an appointment will subsequently be made to visit the other people involved. During both visits we listen, explain about Mediation, and encourage both sides to come to a Mediation Session.

Step 3:

If everyone is willing, the Mediators will arrange a safe, neutral place for you all to meet together at a time convenient to everyone involved. At this stage indirect (or shuttle) mediation may be an option.

Step 4, the Face to Face Meeting:

During a Mediation Session, both parties have a chance to talk without interruption - the Mediators will endeavour to ensure that any anger is safely contained. The aim is to assist you all in finding a solution which everyone can accept. The agreement made is yours - the Mediators just help you to reach it. Any agreement is signed by everyone present (although it is not legally binding).

Step 5:

The Service will make contact after an agreed period of time to see if the agreement is working out as planned or whether some further help is required.

Peer Mediation is next or click here to return to the top of the page

DEVELOPING POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH PEER MEDIATION

What is Peer Mediation?

Peer mediation is a form of conflict resolution in schools. It is a process whereby pupils in conflict are guided by someone their own age through a series of steps so that they can find their own solution. Peer mediation works because it empowers young people to resolve their own disputes.

How does it work?

Mediators work in pairs: one pair will be on duty in the playground along with the lunchtime supervision staff keeping an eye out for disagreements. When they come across any conflict they will ask the pupils involved if they would like to ‘go to mediation’ to settle the dispute. Another pair of trained mediators will be based in a mediation room and will then go through the mediation process with them. At the end of this process an agreement will hopefully be reached bringing closure to the dispute.

Which students can be mediators?

Primary schools – usually pupils at the end of year 5 are trained so they can take the skills and use them in year 6 (younger pupils will go to older ones to help sort out their problems but not usually the other way round).

Secondary schools – usually students at the end of year 9 are trained so that they are able to utilise their skills at the school for a further two years.

Any suitable pupil may be selected for the training including those with special educational needs. Generally those selected are the children that other children would naturally go to when they need someone to talk to about a problem.

What are the benefits?

Mediation provides a means of resolving problems and can prevent escalation.
Conflict is accepted as a normal healthy part of relationships when it can be managed constructively.
Mediation encourages students to take responsibility for their behaviour and their relationships.
Mediators improve their skills in the areas of affirming, listening, communication, negotiating and problem solving. Their self-esteem is enhanced and school performance often improves.
Schools with a peer mediation scheme report that they have become more peaceful. Students know that they have a dispute resolution system that is confidential and non-confrontational and truancy levels are usually reduced.
Teacher time and stress is reduced as some of the need for disciplining, arbitrating and coercing is lessened. They have more time and energy to devote to other issues.
Students who have a sense of their ability to manage relationship difficulties also have a heightened ability to manage their learning.
Young people trained in mediation will go on to use their mediation skills outside school, for example when there is conflict within their own family or when their family is in conflict with their neighbours.

Do all schools have a peer mediation scheme?

Only certain schools have the scheme up and running. To set up a peer mediation scheme takes a certain amount of time and commitment from the school and the pupils, and also the skills and resources of a recognised and approved mediation service to deliver the appropriate training. A whole school approach to peer mediation is essential for its success.

Where peer mediation schemes are up and running, it has been recognised that mediation is an effective tool for resolving disputes and keeping conflict in the playground to a minimum thus leading to less anxious pupils and improved learning in the classroom.

Other Mediation is next or click here to return to the top of the page

OTHER MEDIATION

Hastings & Rother Mediation Service may be able to signpost you other types of mediation. Please contact the Manager or Deputy Manager for information.

Contact details are next or click here to return to the top of the page

CONTACTS.

Please feel free to contact us by letter, phone, or email. Our office address is:

Hastings & Rother Mediation Service
2nd Floor
3 Cambridge Gardens
Hastings
East Sussex
TN34 1EH

Our telephone number is 01424 446808, and you can email us at hrmediation@aol.com

Structure is next or click here to return to the top of the page

STRUCTURE - KEY PEOPLE.

To help you contact the right person, our structure is as follows:

Mediation Service Manager - Nicola Hawkins.

Deputy Manager/Trainer - Sandra Dean.

Time 2 Talk - Alison Rouncivell / Pauline Riley.

Time 2 Talk Youth Support Team Children's Services - Alison Rouncivell

Links are next or click here to return to the top of the page

LINKS.

Click here to visit the Rother District Council Housing web site.

Click here to visit the Hastings Borough Council web site.

Training and Resources is next or click here to return to the top of the page

TRAINING AND RESOURCES.

TRAINING COURSE

Hastings & Rother Mediation Service run their own externally accredited training course for volunteer mediators.

Venue - It is held locally at a convenient location.
Duration - one day per week, spread over 4 weeks.

Main Topics

Aggression
Blocks to communication
Building rapport
Co-mediating
Confidentiality
Control/balancing power
Cultural awareness
Defusing strategies
Developing listening skills
Disputes and disputants
Emotional reactions
Empathy feelings
Exploring conflict
Exploring the issues
Face to face mediation
Facts/feelings/issues
Generating/assessing options
Good practice guidelines
Hooks and triggers
Mediation UK practice standards
Positions and interests
Practical process of mediation
Prejudices
Questioning techniques
Shuttle mediation
Skills and qualities of a mediator
Stereotyping
Understanding own biases
Visits to clients
Voices from the past
When is mediation appropriate

The training course encourages participation, indeed the more you put into it the more you get out of it. There is plenty of group work, discussions and some role-play. Participants are also expected to complete some written work. If the course is completed successfully, a certificate from Mediation UK is awarded.

OTHER TRAINING

Mediation is now widely recognised in many organisations as a way to help resolve conflict, whether the conflict is within your workforce or in the work that you do. Hastings & Rother Mediation Service can tailor-make a training programme to suit your needs. If you would like further information please contact Sandra Dean, our training co-ordinator or Nicola Hawkins, Manager.

RESOURCES - Publications

Producing a Succesful Evidence File

We have produced a comprehensive guide to the compilation of a portfolio to demonstrate mediator competence. This is based on the experience of a number of members of the service who have been accredited by this means and is published with the encouragement of a number of those responsible for assessment. The requirements of the Assessment Pack have been distilled into a series of pages which make it possible for you to show your evidence; each page has a space to indicate where to look for it, together with a cross-referencing system and the initials of those doing the internal assessment.

Together with this there is an introductory section giving guidance to the formation of a portfolio. The final section of the booklet gives examples of how to write a Case Study with an example; it includes help in wilting up an assessment/observation of a round table meeting, guidance on Peer Assessment and other suggestions to help you to maximise the appearance and usefulness of your portfolio.

We believe that any service adopting this system will find that the Hastings method provides an efficient short-cut to the preparation and assembly of the necessary material. The publication was successfully launched at the recent Mediation UK conference, with a number of services purchasing the manual with a view to using it within their own service. The copyright for the scheme is owned by the Hastings and Rother Mediation Service. Purchase of the manual includes permission for the material to be photocopied for as many mediators as necessary within that service. The one-off payment for this facility is £99.

For more information or to order this publication, please contact us.

The Quality Mark - A Practical Guide

(Although the Legal Services Commission has withdrawn this category of Quality Mark, services may find this useful to use for good practice.)

A MEDIATION SERVICE “OFF THE SHELF” (endorsed by Mediation UK) The Hastings and Rother Mediation Service was the first in the country to obtain the Community Legal Service’s Community Mediation Quality Mark. Mindful of the amount of work involved in getting this qualification, we have produced a comprehensive guide to the necessary procedures. The Legal Services Commission has published the Quality Mark Standards for Mediation which is the authoritative guide. We have found that the standards set out need a good deal of unpacking and interpreting if they are to be made accessible to services wanting to move forward to the Quality Mark; our guide has that aim.

The Guide contains:-

an introduction to each of the seven sections under which services are assessed
the relevant sections of our service’s manual, covering the way in which the Quality Mark requirements are met
hand-outs and documents given to volunteers in training and in practice
forms devised for measuring and checking the various procedures necessary to maintain the standards
a specimen constitution, a form for giving feedback on your fellow mediators, a specimen Health and Safety policy and much, much more; it is all there in the guide saving you months of work devising your own material

The guide will not only help other services working towards the Quality Mark but also, since it covers most or all of the procedures necessary to the setting up and running of a service, it will provide a step-by-step plan for a new service. The guide takes the pain out of the process of applying for the Quality Mark; it protects against the temptation to re-invent the wheel and saves many working hours developing documents and procedures which can easily be adapted from Hastings and Rother to other community mediation services.

The guide consists of 205 pages of material. The cost covers permission to photocopy all forms and documents contained in the manual which has been built up over the ten years of the Hastings and Rother Service’s existence and is priced at £485.00 per copy including packing and postage.

For more information or to order this publication, please contact us.

Volunteers is next or click here to return to the top of the page

VOLUNTEERS.

Are you interested in becoming a volunteer mediator?
Would you like to help the community?

What qualifications do I need?

You do not need any formal qualifications to apply to become a mediator.

All new mediators attend an accredited training course which will equip you with all the skills and qualities needed to start mediating. From then on you will be assigned to "cases" with a co-mediator (usually an experienced mediator to start with). If you wish, your experiences and knowledge can be used in building up your own portfolio in order to obtain the externally assessed Competent Mediator Status.

What personal qualities do I need?

Listening is an essential skill of a mediator, some people are naturally "good listeners", and for others this can be learned. An ability to remain impartial and not to judge people is also necessary, it is very tempting to take sides in a situation especially if you think someone is in the right, but mediators need to remain neutral at all times, and also keep any information they hear confidential. A friendly personality is an advantage as is an ability to work as part of a team, as Mediators need to be able to communicate well with their co-mediator, clients, and the office.

How much time do I have to give?

The initial training course is for 30 hours spread over 5 weeks (one day per week). There is also a requirement for some weekly written work. After this, mediators usually spend about 2-3 hours a week on cases, although this is often flexible. A support meeting for mediators is held once a month.

What is involved?

Mediators always work in pairs with back up from the Manager and Assistant Manager. In most cases, mediators visit clients their own home to find out what problems they are experiencing. All visits are within the Hastings and Rother boundaries. Access to a car is ideal, although Mediators without a car can still be accepted.

Mediators will then visit the other party or parties to find out the issues from their point of view. Brief notes are taken on each occasion and the office is kept informed of progress. It is then hoped that a meeting will be arranged for all the concerned parties, including the mediators, who will be there to control the process. We hope that any agreement reached by the parties is entered into in a spirit of goodwill as it is something they have worked on together. Mediators will make sure at the meeting that no-one is forced into anything and that what they agree is done so willingly.

Will my expenses be reimbursed?

Yes, all travelling and telephone expenses will be reimbursed at a specified rate. If you have small children, the Service will pay some money towards childcare expenses.

What do I do next if I want to become a mediator?

You can speak to the Manager or Assistant Manager for an informal chat.
You can leave your contact details and we can phone when it is convenient for you.
We can send you further details or an application form in the post.

For more information please contact us.

Client Feedback is next or click here to return to the top of the page

CLIENT FEEDBACK.

We are pleased to note some of the comments made by our clients on recent feedback forms:

"We would like to thank your mediation team for their help and would willingly recommend to others that they try using the expertise available before rushing off to their solicitors."

"The two ladies who came to see us were very helpful. Very good."

"The situation was handled very sensitively."

"I was very satisfied indeed. My case had a positive outcome. I always found everyone I dealt with extremely pleasant, helpful and objective. It was a great relief and support to be able to turn to you. All information was clear and helpful."

"I found that the two who came to me were really helpful and made me feel much better. Very good."

"The Service was a great help and I’m very pleased with the outcome."

"It was handled with care and consideration for both parties."

"We thought the two ladies very good at the job. They listened to us without bias. We think the Service is a good idea and certainly helped us out of a nasty situation."

"We feel that, presented with a very difficult situation, their patience and ability to try to comprehend the situation was outstanding."

"The Service was very helpful. It made it possible to have a civilised conversation. Thank you for your help."

"I would like to thank you all. In fact you were a godsend." "The Mediation Service has done more to help resolve the problem than all the other referral agencies put together. Thank you for your services. They are much appreciated."

"We found the service you offered very helpful and we appreciated the time and effort that you both put in to help."

"The mediators could have done no more. The information was clear and comprehensive. Very satisfied. If we are ever in a situation in which we need to take this further, the fact that the mediators acted positively on our behalf will be beneficial."

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