Rooted in Voice is a specialist consultancy dedicated to elevating the voices, rights, and lived experiences of children and young people. Utilising my training and experience as a restorative practitioner, reflective practice facilitator, and trauma‑informed specialist, Rooted in Voice brings together 15 years of cross‑sector experience spanning education, safeguarding, criminal justice, and the charity sector.
At the heart of Rooted in Voice is a simple belief: children are not passive recipients of support, they are active participants with insight, agency, and expertise.
Through training, consultancy, and creative practice, Rooted in Voice equips professionals with the skills, confidence, and tools to build safer, more empowering environments where children’s voices genuinely shape decisions, systems, and culture.
I offer a range of training from whole or part days, bespoke or my Voice of the Child: Restorative, Trauma‑Informed & Creative Practice training which was written and designed by me, and blends restorative approaches, trauma‑informed principles, narrative techniques, and co‑production.
The training is immersive, practical, and grounded in real‑world experience, offering participants strategies they can use immediately.
Alongside training, Rooted in Voice provides:
• Reflective practice facilitation
• Co‑production workshops with young people Bespoke resource and tool development
• Whole‑school approach consultation
• Youth participation strategy design
Rooted in Voice is where restorative practice, creativity, and trauma‑informed thinking meet; creating space for children and young people to be heard, believed, and empowered.
rootedinvoice@gmail.com
Professional Bio:
John is the founder of Rooted in Voice Consultancy and a specialist in child participation, co-production, restorative practice, and trauma‑informed approaches.
With 15 years’ experience working across education, safeguarding, criminal justice, and the charity sector, his work centres on empowering children and young people to shape the systems, decisions, and environments that affect their lives.
He is the author of Hedgehog Finds Her Voice, an early‑intervention resource supporting emotional expression and safety. His practice‑based expertise includes designing national programmes, leading youth advisory groups, and co‑creating resources with young people on topics such as online harm, hate crime, digital literacy, and wellbeing.
A trained restorative practitioner and mindful photography facilitator, John has developed his own practice informed by these disciplines and by his trauma‑informed training and frontline experience within a national charity.
His portfolio includes:
- Co‑creating parent assemblies on online harm with young people
- Co-designing a restorative‑focused forest school programme.
- Co‑creating a peer mentoring scheme for young people in secondary school
- Developing a child‑friendly safeguarding statement for a school
- Facilitating staff reflective practice and EDI networks
- Leading the creation of a national charity’s whole‑school approach
- Consulting with national and international educational settings on digital literacy resources
- Serving as a school governor and safeguarding trainer
- Overseeing national programmes through pilot stage to scale-up
- Acting as an independent victim advocate with extensive knowledge of the criminal justice system
He is trained in restorative practice, trauma‑informed approaches, and safeguarding, and has co‑authored an academic paper selected for the European Conference on Domestic Violence.
His training style is warm, creative, evidence‑informed, and grounded in real‑world practice. He brings a rare blend of professional expertise, lived experience, and co‑production methodology that resonates deeply with practitioners.
The World Outside the Window 