Restorative Practice in Scottish Schools Richard Hendry National Coordinator: Work with Schools rich

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Restorative Practicein Scottish
SchoolsRichard HendryNational Coordinator
Work with Schoolsrichard_at_hoolet.com
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About Sacro

• Scotlands leading community justice
  organisation.
• Mission To reduce conflict and offending and
  make communities safer.
• 9 distinct services across 28 Councils,
  including
• Youth and Adult Restorative Justice
• Community Mediation
• Intergenerational Projects
• Restorative Practice in schools

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What is Restorative Practice (RP)in schools?

• restoring good relationships when there has
  been conflict or harm and developing school
  ethos, policies and procedures to reduce the
  possibility of such conflict and harm arising.
• Restorative Practices in three Scottish Councils
  Evaluation of pilot projects 2004-2006 (Scottish
  Executive Education Department 2007)

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Scottish Governmental aspirations

• Curriculum for Excellence
• Successful learners
• Confident individuals
• Responsible citizens
• Effective contributors.
• Getting it Right for Every Child
• Effective, coherent, interagency support.

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Other current drivers for RP

• Inclusion - specifically reducing exclusion
• Behaviour and attainment
• Early intervention
• Outcomes for Looked After Children
• Evidence base

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Schools traditional social framework

• Based on
• Valuing cognitive abilities
• Adult management of learning and behaviour
• Arbitrated resolution of conflict
• Retributive responses to wrong-doing.

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Typical outcomes of a retributive school culture

• A significant proportion of children become
• Compliant or disengaged learners
• Over-dependent on, or rejecting of, adult
  authority
• Lacking in social resilience
• Over-reliant on an external locus of evaluation
• Unsure of their own moral compass.

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A new vision - a different culture

• A culture where we actively nurture
• Pro-social attitudes and behaviours
• Responsibility-taking
• Respect for rights
• Empathy

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What schools can provide

• Explicit opportunities to develop Emotional
  Intelligence.
• Adults who model constructive communication.
• Responses to conflict and harm that empower those
  involved or affected to be part of the solution.

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A Whole-school Approach to Relationships
Interpersonal Skills
Active listening, empathy, assertiveness,
courtesy, dealing with conflict, communication
skills, accepting criticism, encouraging,
supporting, respecting differences, taking
responsibility, apologising, emotional literacy,
cooperation, etc.
Building relationships
Mentoring, Buddy Systems
Strengthening relationships
Checking-in Circles
Problem-Solving Circles
Solving problems and challenges
Pupil Councils
Mediation, Peer Mediation
Resolving conflict
Restorative Interventions
Addressing harm
Disciplinary Processes

• Restorative Interventions include Restorative
  Conversations, Meetings, Circles, Conferences
  (including Family Group), Shuttle Dialogue,
  Victim Awareness and Support for Persons Harmed.

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Different culture - different outcomes

• Adults and children learn to
• Understand the impact of their behaviours on
  others
• Explain how they have been effected
• Resolve conflicts constructively
• Make amends for any harm done
• Self-regulate.

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A vision rooted in reality

• Child-centred approaches to learning
• Resolving conflict through Mediation
• Restorative Practice pilot schools
• Range of Restorative Interventions
• Conversations
• face-to-face Meetings
• Circles
• Conferences
• Recent Government and Council developments

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Joining up the Restorative experience
Mediation Services
Preventing homelessness
Police
Inter-generational projects
Prisons
Schools
Social Work
Community-Based Reparation
Youth Justice services
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A patchy evolution and a pending opportunity

• What do we need?
• Clearer, shared understanding
• Quality training
• Equal access for those harmed and those
  responsible
• Effective link-up across contexts (as per GiRfEC)
• Monitoring and evaluation
• Greater government support and steer to provide
  coherence.