“Find Your Voice Gloucestershire” delivering impact across the region.

In 2025 we trained twenty people to deliver bystander intervention training across Gloucestershire County and City Council in a successful Train the Trainer programme, which   has subsequently seen hundreds of council employees trained. The project recently won a Gloucestershire OPCC Impact Award. Our head of Operations Alice Clarke, outlines the partnership so far.  

How did the Train the Trainer project start?

Kindling has a long-standing relationship with the Gloucestershire area, stemming from our work with Hollie Gazzard Trust. In 2022, we developed Find Your Voice, a six-hour evidence-based bystander intervention programme for the prevention of and response to Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) with Gloucestershire Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner. In May 2025, after agreeing some developments to the programme with the Gloucestershire County Council ,  Kindling Directors, Rachel and Nate delivered a two- day train the trainer  Find Your Voice Gloucestershire programme at Gloucestershire County Council (GCC).

What does the training cover?

 In line with the evidence on effectiveness of bystander intervention training for the prevention of women and girls, the course combines a social norms approach while cultivating attention to the low-level attitudes, beliefs and behaviours that shore-up VAWG. Through use of relatable practice scenarios, it provides participants with a set of practical tools to make skilful interventions in a range of settings to prevent and respond to gendered harms.

How did the Train the Trainer work?

Twenty people attended the training, fourteen from Gloucestershire County Council and six from Gloucester City. There were equal amounts of women and men, of all different ages, job roles and seniority within the council- from reception staff and community workers to assistant directors and heads of service.

The first day they experienced the intervention as participants and on day two they explored the evidence base, and practiced delivery of core course concepts with expert and peer feedback. The training aimed to enhance facilitation skills including trauma-informed facilitation and ways of dealing with resistance. After the two days, they signed an MoU and were licensed to go ahead and deliver the training across the council.

What has happened since?

Since June 2025, the Kindling-trained GCC trainers have delivered the course to more than 350 people with another 80 signed up for the remaining 2026 sessions. Participants have said: “This training was one of the best sessions I have ever attended. It made a big impact on me at the time and has stayed with me.” We are evaluating with a pre-post course survey and will be able to measure effectiveness using agreed scales.  Dr Nate Eisenstadt was also invited to deliver a seminar on White Ribbon Day, 2025 to over 180 people committed to  increasing gender equality in the workplace, which acted as a reinforcement and celebrated the progress that has been made towards gender equality.

What has been the impact of the Train the Trainer project?

In April 2026, Gloucestershire County Council’s campaign to prevent Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) was recognised with a Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Gloucestershire Impact Award by the. Abigail Glyn, who has taken the lead on developing this training offer at GCC  said, “Kindling’s’ Train the Trainer (TTT) programme has been, without question, the most effective and impactful action we have taken in the two years I have led this work. The TTT is a cost-effective model which empowers colleagues to become passionate advocates for change and has engaged people across the organisation. Volunteer facilitators from the councils are demonstrating that preventing VAWG is something relevant to everyone.  The impact has been remarkable. Staff regularly stop me months after attending to tell me how thought-provoking the training was, how it continues to influence their thinking, or how it inspired conversations with family and friends. I cannot recommend this programme highly enough; it has exceeded our expectations.”

The Find Your Voice Gloucestershire model shows that if you have a small group of committed people willing to deliver the training, and an effective lead in the organisation the impact can be transformational. We look forward to sharing the evaluation results when they are available.