Colourful handwritten brainstorming diagram titled Solution Circle Dialogue, outlining school support strategies for an autistic student, including anxiety mapping, transition planning, family meetings, key adult support, and creative teamwork

Description

A Solution Circle is a 30 minute creative Problem Solving Process for getting unstuck…Ideal for busy people! lt was designed by Marsha Forest & Jack Pearpoint. This is a short and powerful tool. It is effective in getting “unstuck” from a problem in life or work. Solution Circles are tools of “community capacity”. It assumes and demonstrates that nearby people – in any community or work place have the capacity to help – if asked. It requires a person to ASK – not an easy thing in our culture of privacy and “do it alone”. This tool puts all the values we espouse into practice and demonstrates that TOGETHER WE’RE BETTER.

Prefer to learn at your own pace? Take our online course, Solution Circles - Problem Solving with Groups. Start the online course.

In this training you will learn how to set up and facilitate Solution Circles 

Course Content

This can be introduced in a twilight, half day or even a full day workshop with individualised coaching. We will provide background context for this approach and will directly model the process with real live issues facing participants. So bring your most challenging concerns to this training.

The course answers the questions:

  • What to do when you are stuck

  • Can we find an alternative to permanent exclusion or separate unit or school placement?

  • Struggling with a child for whom praise is ineffective?

  • Feeling isolated in your responses to a child’s needs?

  • Worried about where your instinctive reactions are leading you?

  • Cannot seem to get any consensus view of a young person’s behaviour/needs amongst all the family and professionals involved – is everyone pulling in different directions?

We will cover:

  • Setting the tone

  • Background and detailed teaching of process

  • Inclusion values underpinning this work

  • Graphic and process facilitation skills

  • Processes modelled and opportunities to try process out with coaching

  • Practical setting up of insights and solutions circles

  • Lessons learned


Learning Objectives

  1. For participants to learn how to facilitate a Solution Circle

  2. For participants to understand the underlying rationale and ethos of this way of working

  3. For participants to learn the power of team work and problem solving when including challenging individuals  


Who Is It For ?

  • Team Around the Child agencies

  • Parents and Professional working together

  • Families

  • Multi Agency Teams

  • Social workers

  • CAMHS teams

  • Year Managers

  • Primary and secondary staff teams

  • Early Years and School based Practitioners

  • Heads and Deputies

  • SENDCOs

  • Advanced Skills Teachers

  • Primary and secondary teachers

  • Local Authority Support Services

How to Get Started

  • Self Paced Online Learning

    Learn Solution Circles at your own pace with our online course. A Solution Circle is a 30 minute creative problem solving process for getting unstuck. It is short, powerful and ideal for busy people.

    Enrol here

  • Facilitated Process

    This is a guided Solution Circle session led by experienced facilitators. We can run it for real with your team around a live issue, or as a live demo.

    Ask about a session

  • In Person Training

    Learn directly from our team how to facilitate Solution Circles, so you can lead sessions yourselves in your team, school or service.

    Ask about training