Civility and Respect Training
All Civility and Respect training delivered by Council Culture is behavioural and cultural.
It is not disciplinary.
It is not investigative.
It does not determine fault or outcomes.
The focus is on how people communicate, regulate emotion, and work together even with different political leanings.
There are two training pathways, depending on where your council is now. This training supports councils to build, repair, and protect a healthy council culture.
Council Culture Reset
Civility and Respect Training for Councils in Difficulty
This pathway is for councils where something is no longer working.
You may be experiencing
• Ongoing conflict or tension
• Repeated complaints or Code of Conduct fatigue
• Hostile or defensive communication
• Officer stress or withdrawal
• Difficulty chairing meetings constructively
This training is designed to stabilise council culture and reduce escalation.
Before the training takes place, I meet with the clerk and usually the chair or a nominated councillor.
These conversations help me understand patterns, pressures, and risks.
They are structured, time-limited, and focused on behaviour, not blame.
Using this insight, I design a bespoke half-day training session for your council.
The session focuses on
• Understanding behavioural patterns in councils
• How stress affects communication and decision-making
• Repairing trust without shame or blame
• Practical tools for disagreement without escalation
• Resetting shared expectations for conduct
This training is delivered to one council only.
Maximum 25 participants.
This protects psychological safety and allows people to speak honestly. The training has a trauma -informed lens, so we learn what makes humans thrive and diminish.
Investment is based on
• Scoping meetings
• Bespoke design and preparation
• Half-day delivery and additional handouts
• Travel
This pathway suits councils who want to move out of difficulty and back into function.
Council Culture Foundations
Civility and Respect Training for Proactive Councils
This pathway is for councils that want to set strong standards before problems arise.
It is particularly suited to
• Councils who have signed or are signing the Civility and Respect Pledge
• New councils or post-election resets
• Councils with new clerks or chairs
• Councils that want shared language and confidence
This training is drawn from the Civility and Respect webinar programme I created for the Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC), National Association of Local Councils (NALC) and One Voice Wales (OVW).
It is practical, structured, and preventative.
There are no pre-meetings required.
The focus is learning, reflection, and shared understanding.
The session covers
• Behavioural dynamics in council settings
• Code of Conduct in practice, not theory
• Respectful challenge and healthy disagreement
• What makes people become challenging
• How to repair after rupture
Delivery is typically a two-hour in-person session.
Maximum 25 participants.
Training is ideally delivered per council to allow open discussion.
Joint sessions with multiple smaller councils are possible if requested.
Investment includes delivery, handouts and standard preparation, plus travel.
This pathway suits councils who want to protect what is already working.
Which pathway is right for your council
If your council is experiencing tension, conflict, or behavioural fatigue, Council Culture Reset is the right starting point.
If your council is stable and wants to strengthen standards, Council Culture Foundations is likely the best fit.
Use this simple rule.
Choose Council Culture Reset if
• Behavioural issues are live
• Trust is fragile
• People feel unsafe speaking freely
• There is fatigue, fear, or withdrawal
Choose Council Culture Foundations if
• The council is broadly functional
• There is curiosity rather than defensiveness
• The focus is shared standards
• There is no active escalation
If you are unsure, an initial conversation can help identify the most appropriate approach - email Becky@beckywalsh.com.
