restorative approaches (ra) in - hull :: home · restorative approaches (ra) in perth & kinross...

Restorative Approaches in Perth & Kinross Restorative Approaches (RA) in

Perth & Kinross Richard Hendry, SACRO National Restorative Practice

Consultant/Trainer Email: [email protected]

(with thanks to Peter Kaye, Principal Educational Psychologist & Lisa Houston, Scottish Government Positive Behaviour Team)

Restorative Approaches in Perth & Kinross

What do we mean by RA in P&K?

Restorative Approaches create opportunities to:   Work with the whole person - behaviours, thoughts and

feelings;   Develop emotional articulacy and interpersonal skills;   Reflect on our behaviours and their impact on others by

developing empathy;   Resolve conflicts through mutual agreement;   Address harm and support people who have been

harmed;   Help manage feelings of shame and remorse;   Put things right (e.g. through apology or amends);   Focus on proactive as well as responsive approaches to

relationships.

Improving the Odds

Inspectors established that of all the features identified by pupils, teachers and senior managers as key to improving the odds, the most important was the quality of the relationships between staff and pupils throughout the school or department.

‘Inspectors found that those staff who had made headway in promoting positive behaviour and attitudes amongst disengaged pupils had often received specific training in, for example, de-escalation techniques and restorative practice.’

‘Improving The Odds: Improving Life Chances’ HMIE June 2008


  HMIE: ‘Improving the Odds’ – June 2008   P&K paper: ‘Improving Relationships – Improving

Behaviour’   Steering Group: Positive Behaviour Team, Tayside

Police, Educational Psychology, Sacro, Social Work, Youth Justice

  School clusters and Integrated Teams   Teachers, psychologists, social workers, police,

community link workers, outdoor education workers.   CPD delivered by Positive Behaviour Team and Sacro   ‘Training for trainers’ approach   Follow through support from Sacro link workers   Direct referral service to Sacro.


A Whole-School Approach

  All staff to receive tailored awareness-raising and training sessions;

  An emphasis on pro-active as well as responsive approaches;

  Built in to school development planning (3-5 years);   Engagement with pupils and parents;   Practice development leads school policy;   Complementary fit with other approaches and

developments.


‘Training for Trainers’ Approach

  Cluster-based staff groups   Course delivered and developed by PBT and Sacro   Duration: 3 days, with a gap between days 2 & 3.   Numbers: 20-25 per group + two trainers + Sacro staff

link person.   10 Secondaries (3-4 staff)   73 primaries (1-3 staff)   Approx 180 staff attended plus additional service staff   Role of ‘Trainers’:

•  RA models •  Implementation leaders •  Staff CPD trainers

Implementation Framework Restorative Approaches IMPLEMENTATION FRAMEWOR K

Consolidate Personal Skills Of Trainers

Assess School Readiness

SMT

Whole School

Plan for Implementation

Young People

All staff

Awareness Raising

Parents/Carers

Undertake Training

Share Practice In own school

Ongoing Network ing and Support

All Staff

Key Staff

Community

Community

Across sectors and agencies

Awareness Raising SMT


Course Content

  Awareness-raising - Knowledge and understanding, theoretical and cultural perspectives, pro-active approaches;

  Restorative Interventions - Conversations, Meetings, Conferences,Circles;

  Implementation - framework, readiness, challenges, support & planning;

  Developing links - to Sacro support staff and other agencies/services.


‘Training for Trainers’ - Key Issues

  SMT support and participation;

  ‘Readiness’ of some participants - challenging entrenched thinking;

  Differing perspectives on the purpose of Restorative Approaches (e.g. addressing wrong-doing v.s. transforming cultures);

  Fitting content into 3 days - balanced by on-going support;

  Positive feedback from participants, but some daunted by the scale of the task.


Participant Evaluations   How was the course overall?

average score approx. 9/10

  Common key words: ‘thought-provoking’, ‘helpful’, ‘interesting’, ‘challenging’, ‘stimulating’…

  How useful in terms of knowledge and understanding? - average score approx. 9/10

  How useful in terms of preparation as a trainer? average score approx. 8/10

Some quotes: “…very practical & fascinating.” “An excellent, informative and empowering

programme.” “This was excellent training! What made the difference for me was being treated as an adult and in a non-patronising way.” “Thank you but OMG! We will need help in the future!!”


Role of Sacro staff

  Link worker attached to each school (1 or 2 per cluster);

  Early links made during Training for Trainers;

  Initial school planning meeting with SMT and trainers;

  Support, as required, for awareness-raising (staff, parents and children) and staff development sessions;

  Awareness-raising sessions with other services (police, youth justice, health, social work);

  ‘Direct Intervention’ service.


Sacro ‘Direct Intervention’ service

  In line with Scottish Government RJ Guidance (2008);

  Direct contact by nominated school staff following a serious incident or growing pattern of harmful behaviour;

  ‘High tariff’ situations only, that would benefit from impartial facilitation, or school staff need support with facilitation;

  Parental direct involvement &/or consent;

  Normal Sacro Youth Justice protocols re assessment, engagement, evaluation and record-keeping.


Sacro ‘Direct Intervention’ uptake

Total referrals to date: 16 (Sept. 2009 to May 2011)

Type of intervention   1 Restorative Justice Conference   3 Face-to-face Meetings   1 Shuttle Dialogue   2 Awareness of Impact (No ‘victim’ contact)   5 Not engaged (1 moved away, 1 inappropriate for

a restorative intervention, 3 issue resolved prior to contact by Sacro)

  4 Referrals ongoing.


Where are we now?

  Training programme started in September 2009.   All school clusters (10) completed ‘training for

trainers’ programme in May 2011   Implementation of training within schools supported

by Sacro link workers   Evaluation group established involving Perth

College UHI   Strong support from SMT of ECS   Further ‘catch up’ and Third Tier training planned.


School implementation progress to date 73 primary and 10 secondary schools sent staff on TfT course.

Implementation Stage No. of schools*

Planning meetings with SMT 61

Awareness-raising sessions with all staff 53

Restorative Conversation CPD 31

Restorative Meeting & Circles CPD 3

Parent sessions 3

* As of 23.5.2011

Further thoughts

  Good fit within Curriculum for Excellence (esp. Health &Wellbeing Outcomes)

  Good fit within other initiatives across Scotland and P&K (e.g. ‘Bounce Back’ resiliency programme; Cooperative Learning; Staged Intervention, Solution Oriented Approaches)

  Integrated model for training   Readiness of each cluster for implementation   Faster uptake across primary sector   Requires school SMT support   Measuring impact? (Staff, student and parent feedback,

referral and exclusion statistics, case studies)

Discussion Questions

  What do you see as the pros and cons of a cluster-based development model?

  How can RA develop in a prevalent school culture of reward and punishment?

  Is is so much harder for secondary schools to genuinely embrace Restorative Approaches? If so, why?

  What is the role of RA in the moral development of our children?

restorative approaches (ra) in - hull :: home · restorative approaches (ra) in perth & kinross...

Documents