Restorative Approaches

We have a range of Restorative Approaches training courses from 1 day to 3 days and optional series of additional workshops to embed learning into practice. Our training and support focuses on enhancing the restorative culture from frontline officers to senior leadership to ensure sustainability and resilience of the approach. Working in a restorative way is all about positive relationships. It is the way we work together in our organisations, with partners and with children and families. It is how we respond to and manage challenge, our language and our behaviour.

1 Day overview

A one-day course would act as an introduction and overview of Restorative Approaches. It would provide an:

• Overview of a restorative approach
• An introduction to theoretical origins, philosophy and development
• An overview of use, aims and ethos - the principles and skills
• Explore the impact of implementing Restorative Approaches within your organisation
• Exploring own practice and learning from each other in order to model good practice
• Using the restorative questioning principles in a 1-2-1 conversation

NB: This one-day introduction does not equip attendees to deliver restorative meetings or conferences. 

3 Day overview

This course would cover the content in Day 1 but also provide opportunities to practice using the skills and receive structured feedback. Learners consider how to apply RA techniques to their role and how to embed RA into their practice. The course would provide: 

• An overview of Restorative Approaches
• An understanding of the theoretical origins, philosophy and development of RA
• An overview of use, aims and ethos, skills and principles
• Consider the use of language and modelling 
• Explore how to create positive relationships, provide challenge and manage conflict
• Information on how RA has been applied, in what setting, and information on best practice
• An opportunity for participants to explore the impact of implementing Restorative Approaches within their role, within the wider organisation, with children and families and with partners
• An exploration of learners own practice and learning from each other in order to model good practice
• Opportunities to use the restorative questioning principles in a 1-2-1 conversation
• An experiential learning set
• Development of sequential acquisition of key skills in RA
• Skill scenarios, role play, discussion and use of case studies and videos
• Confidence and increased capacity to facilitate restorative dialogue in circles, meetings/conferences. 

Managers   

Our experience show that managers are likely to need additional support in order to embed RA into practice in their teams. To supplement the above, we therefore recommend that a complimentary programme is offered to managers and senior leaders to enable RA to be truly embedded and implemented successfully. This can be delivered by an additional series of embedding workshops covering : 

• The value of RA in leadership
• Strategy development and action planning
• Models for implementing RA
• Measuring the impact of RA
• Using RA in supervision 

Our training is delivered in accordance with the Restorative Justice Council’s Best Practice Guidance (2011).