About us

Who we are

Peacebuilders first grew out of Resolutions First, a social enterprise specialising in conflict resolution between 1999 and 2008. In December 2008, Resolutions First restructured into two separate enterprises, Peacebuilders and Carl Emery.

Peacebuilders was set up by Laura Gilchrist to build on the nine years of experience of developing and delivering conflict resolution training in schools, the public sector and the local community.

Laura Gilchrist is a qualified mediator with six years experience in community, school and workplace mediation, as well as being an experienced trainer and facilitator. She developed and delivers the conflict mediation skills training programme. Laura has also delivered training for children and teachers in playground buddies, peer mediation and developing an effective school council. Whilst at Resolutions First , she developed and delivered a conflict resolution course for Manchester Metropolitan University’s Youth and Community Work programme. Laura has a Masters degree in Conflict Resolution and is a founding partner of the national Peace School programme. With a background in Development Education, she has also delivered training on a range of global development issues in secondary schools and church settings. Laura co-authored the Primary Playground Buddies Toolkit, a resource for primary school teachers to train pupils as playground buddies.

Julie Wolstenholme is a qualified teacher with many years experience working in the field of conflict resolution - both in schools and in the wider community. She originally came into this field of work as a community mediator. Julie has a commitment to the promotion of mediation as a method of dispute transformation and resolution and trained a team of mediators for Manchester Education Partnership’s School Mediation Service. She has been involved in research projects on cross cultural conflict resolution. Julie has pioneered work in a number of Manchester schools to support them in developing restorative ways of building relationships and resolving conflicts. She offers training, consultation and practical support to introduce restorative approaches into schools. Julie co-authored the Primary Playground Buddies Toolkit, a resource for teachers to train pupils as playground buddies.

Our Work

Peacebuilders works in the public sector, schools and universities and in local communities. Examples of our work include:

• Training children and young people as playground buddies and peer mediators.
• Delivering workplace mediation for public and third sector organisations.
• Facilitating difficult meetings for voluntary sector organisations.
• Designing and delivering in-house conflict management training.
• Developing and delivering accredited mediation courses that are open to everyone.
• Developing and delivering a conflict resolution course for Manchester Metropolitan University.
• Pioneering work on restorative approaches in schools.

Vision and Values

Peacebuilders’ vision is for people of all ages to be equipped with the skills and knowledge to deal with conflict constructively.

Peacebuilders is at an exciting stage of development and is working on its core values to ensure that all our activities are built on a meaningful foundation for the future. Come back soon to read more – or get in touch to learn more!

Testimonials

We receive generous and positive feedback from our work. Here are just a few of the comments:

“I just wanted to thank you both for making this experience so calm, safe and peaceful. The training has given me the skills to resolve disputes and issues within my working role but has also provided me with the skills to apply to everyday issues too. I have learnt lots and can't wait to go out there and try to help others.”
A.Gronan, Housing Officer, Guinness Northern Counties Housing Association, Conflict Mediation Skills Participant 2009

“The expressive, open people-focussed training really encouraged me to contribute. The trainers were excellent at setting up a safe space in which to learn and try out new techniques. It was excellent training.”
L.Wolfenden, Director, Practical Direction, Conflict Mediation Skills Participant 2009

“The content of the sessions and how they were delivered was awe-inspiring. The group bonded very well due to the tutors. I was fully engaged throughout and the last two days I developed muscles I didn't know I had!”
A.Chinelo, Freelance community artist, Conflict Mediation Skills Participant 2009

“Excellent. A really good mixture of learning styles, plenty of interaction. I learnt some new stuff, about myself and others, which is always good. The day was broken up extremely well.”
T.Jones, Participation Worker, Network Leeds, Introduction to Dealing with Conflict Participant, Feb 2009

“This course has opened my eyes to the ways I respond in conflict and also given me great tools to use in my own community when conflicts arise. It was really well balanced in terms of learning styles and I’ve learnt many useful skills in a very practical and useable way.”
Hazel Hughes, Genesis Sale Moor Community Project, Community Mediation Skills participant 2008

“I felt the course was structured well, with just the right amount of time given to different topics and exercises. It was clear how knowledgeable and experienced the trainers were and this gave me confidence.”
Anna Whitfield, Connexions, Community Mediation Skills participant 2008

“Brilliant course! Excellent opportunity to share and learn in a very warm atmosphere”
Teacher, St Matthews RC High School, Restorative Approaches Course 2008

“I’m absolutely delighted! To see the students actively engaged and working together was wonderful, and to see the way they dealt with some of the problems that presented themselves was so impressive. It was spot on!”
Mr J. Poulet, Deputy Head teacher, Wilmslow High School, following delivery of a day focussed on Personal Learning and Thinking Skills, November 2008

“The training with the children and the strategies used have helped raise the children’s self-esteem and made them much more responsible members of the school community”
Ms L. Bardsley, Headteacher, St Peter’s CE Primary, Playground Buddy Training

“A very enjoyable course; well-led and a good balance of different learning styles.”
Ms J. Kennedy, Head teacher, Barlow Hall Primary School, Restorative approaches training for staff

“The mediation training has made a huge difference. The mediators are learning vital skills and they feel that their job is important. Other children sometimes feel more comfortable talking to one of their peers than to an adult.”
Ms S. Henderson, Teacher, Manley Park Primary School, Peer Mediation training for pupils and staff

“Thanks for a great job on Tuesday – lots of enthusiasm followed and no complaints!”
Ms C. Edge, Ashbury Meadow Primary School, following facilitation of a Senior Leadership Team meeting

Contact Us

E-mail us at: info@peacebuilders.org.uk

Peacebuilders
St John's Centre
St John's Road
Old Trafford
Manchester
M16 7GX

Office tel: 0161 872 7732

Laura Gilchrist – 078 5556 7563

Julie Wolstenholme – 079 1044 1049