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The Camden Centre for Relational Practice is dedicated to supporting relational culture-building in public services. To do this, we have three offers: training, peer support and sector-led improvement, and events and partnerships. Click the links below to find out more. 

The Centre provides relational practice training for Camden Council staff, using our unique relational practice framework. The Centre also offers 'introduction to relational practice' short sessions for other public services.

Codesigned with Camden Council staff, the framework uses an ‘approach-method-technique’ concept (Burnham, 1999) to structure our way of working. We use systemic thinking as our core approach. We augment this with four methods - mentalisation, restorative, anti-racist practice and rights-based participation - to help us think and act systemically. 

We combine our approach and methods with a range of practical techniques to help us apply these ideas in everyday working life. 

The framework was converted into a 3-day training programme, and piloted in March 2025. A formative evaluation was carried out through the University of Northampton during design stage. The Centre is currently working with OCN to accredit the programme. 

You can read our practice framework here .

If you are interested in an introductory session to our practice training, please do contact us. 

What We Offer

The Centre offers programmes of peer support on relational culture-building for internal Camden Council services and external public services. 

Our relational culture-building programmes cover four core themes which can be tailored according to service needs: 

  • relational practice – everyday practices of people

  • relational infrastructure and service design – designing policies, processes and services that support people to be relational

  • relational leadership – supporting public service leaders to champion and model relational cultures

  • collaboration and participation – practices to help public services bring communities, business and services together to solve problems. 

Since 2024, the Centre has run Camden Council’s offer as a sector-led improvement partner for the Department for Education. These programmes provide support to local authority children’s services in England who are on improvement journeys.  

 

You can find out more about the DFE’s sector-led improvement programme here

 

Why us

In 2025, Camden achieved a rating of 'Outstanding' for children's services, adult social care and youth justice from their respective inspectorates (Ofsted, CQC and HMIP). In all three cases,  inspectors highlighted the strength of relational practice. 

Camden's innovation with relational culture-building goes far beyond formally inspected services. Underpinned by the Camden Model of Leadership, relational practice and design are now showing in Camden services including housing, homelessness prevention, contact centre, money advice , employment support and libraries. We bring this depth and breadth of experience to the Centre's work. 

Whoever we work with, our approach to sector-led improvement and peer support is based on our relational principles:

  • strengths-based
  • reciprocity
  • honest and compassionate relationships
  • a spirit of ‘something to teach, something to learn’.

We combine a unique blend of theory, practical application, and 'reflections from the field' drawn from our journey of relational culture-building in Camden. 

If you are a Children's Services local authority on an improvement journey, or if you are interested in a programme of support on relational culture building, please do get in touch. 

The Centre uses its platform to support and contribute to the growing movement of people and organisations working on relational public services. We do this through public events and webinars, and through collaborations and partnerships with other public services, academic institutions, knowledge centres, policy labs and civil society organisations. 

Most importantly, we collaborate with residents who are at the core of our entire ethos. 


If you are interested in running an event with the Centre, or in collaborating on any aspect of building relational public services, we'd love to hear from you.