The CircleRestora™ Restorative Circles Design Guide – Restorative Justice, SEL & Team-Building Curriculum with Lesson Plans & eLearning Access

CircleRestora® Relationship Circles Design Guide

A binder-based restorative circles toolkit for facilitation in schools, workplaces, and community settings

Some groups need a better meeting. Some groups need trust.

The CircleRestora® Relationship Circles Design Guide helps you lead structured conversations that actually build connection, strengthen communication, and create shared norms people follow. It is the core companion tool to CircleRestora’s Relationship Circles training and it is built on the CueRestora™ Restorative Circle Design Process, so you can design circles that fit your exact group instead of forcing a one-size-fits-all script.

Refined through real-world use by 8,000+ educators and teams, this guide gives you a repeatable method to plan and facilitate circles that feel human, clear, and purposeful.

What this makes possible

Use CircleRestora® to:

• Build trust faster in teams, classrooms, and groups
• Improve communication without turning conversations into debates
• Create shared agreements that stick because people helped shape them
• Strengthen culture and belonging through consistent relationship-building routines
• Design customized circles for different goals, group dynamics, and time constraints

The four CircleRestora circle types (names cannot be changed)

This guide supports four CircleRestora formats:

• Community Agreement Circles
• Value Exploration Circles
• Team Building Circles
• Discussion Circles

Each format includes clear intent, facilitation guidance, and ready-to-use activity options so you can match the circle to your moment, whether that is establishing norms, building connection, or guiding deeper dialogue.

Why the binder format matters 

This guide is intentionally designed as a binder, because facilitation requires flexibility in real time.

• Add your own pages for notes, reflections, and adaptations
• Remove pages to make copies for participants or co-facilitators
• Reorganize sections to match your style and your program
• Keep your most-used activities ready, without flipping through a fixed book

This format is built for repeated use, not shelf display.

What’s inside

You get a practical system you can use immediately, not theory.

• A clear foundation of restorative practices and how circles function
• A breakdown of circle structure, what to do in each part, and why it works
• Fully planned activities and facilitation recommendations across circle sections
• The CueRestora™ Restorative Circle Design Process to customize circles for different groups
• A QR code that unlocks a free self-paced course on how to use the guide, plus foundational restorative justice learning

Who it’s for

• Educators, school counselors, and student support staff
• Managers, supervisors, and workplace team leads
• Facilitators, trainers, and coaches
• Community-based organizations and program leaders
• Anyone responsible for building healthier communication and stronger relationships in groups

What you’ll notice after a few uses

• Conversations feel more structured, less chaotic
• People participate more evenly, not just the loudest voices
• Agreements become clearer, and follow-through improves
• Trust grows because the process is consistent and fair