Restorative Practice – A Full Centre Approach

Restorative Practice in the GSC – A Full Centre Approach

Written through the lens’ of staff members and young people in the Good Shepherd Centre.

Leona Donnelly – Depute Head of Education
Our restorative practices journey began on 17^th August 2006 – the day the Good Shepherd Secure and Close Support Centre opened. As a new teacher, straight out of my probation year, I had a lot to learn. Teacher training had provided me with an insight into pedagogical theory, learning and teaching practice and the well-intentioned advice: “don’t smile until Christmas!” Coming to work in the GSC, turned this theory on its head. Almost immediately, it became evident, that relationships are the key to education and a smile can go far.

Our young people are referred to us from the Children’s Hearing or Criminal Justice system and likely to have experienced relational trauma and mental health problems. Many have disengaged from education and had negative experiences of school. During my years working in the GSC, I have been fortunate to be mentored by great teachers and leaders, who understood how important relationships are to learning; and nowhere more so, than in our sector. In my previous school, I was part of the Discipline Review Group. Learner behaviour was ‘controlled’ using rewards and sanctions. In the GSC: listening, understanding and conversations are fundamental.

It wasn’t until several years later that we formally labeled our practice as ‘restorative’ when a couple of my colleagues and I attended Education Scotland’s Restorative Approaches training. We developed an implementation plan, in-house staff training and provided awareness sessions for our young people. Our restorative approaches pilot commenced in February 2016 and lasted for 7 months. The pilot involved taking a record of all restorative meetings alongside their outcome, monitoring and tracking attendance, school exclusions and serious incidents. Young people and staff provided feedback using evaluation forms at the end of the pilot.

The evaluation demonstrated that the pilot was a success; but we knew this, even before analysing the data. You could feel the change in the air! Although relational approaches had already been in practice, the formality of the pilot, provided us all with the reassurance that we were on the right track and removed the dutiful feeling of using rewards and sanctions to respond to behaviour. Moreover, becoming aware of the benefits of restorative approaches provided us with a compelling case that it was not only best practice, but essential to supporting our young people.

This practice is now embedded in the GSC and complements our nurturing and trauma-responsive approach. Safety, collaboration, trust, choice, and empowerment; the guiding principles of trauma responsive care, permeate through restorative approaches. The practice is non-punitive and endeavours to remove the destructive feelings of shame. Developing relationships, resolving conflict and problem solving to reduce harm require each of these elements.

We utilise restorative approaches throughout our full centre community. Conflict is part of life and can occur whenever individuals, or parties, have differing values, perspectives or opinions. In our setting, conflict can arise between young people, between staff members and young people, or between staff members. Restorative approaches provide us all with the skills and understanding to respond to and repair harm. It teaches us the importance of listening to others’ perspective, linking feelings to behaviour and working together to find a way to move on from conflict and reduce the likelihood of further incidences. Our young people and staff are very familiar with the language of restorative approaches. If you observe daily interactions, you will notice it in unconscious practice. When conflict does occur, you will hear young people and staff, alike, requesting ‘a restorative’ (meeting) and at times, when emotions remain heightened, others may step in to mediate in a more formal restorative meeting.

Victoria Bogle – Assistant House Manager
If I am asked by someone outside of work who has no experience of Care or of the GSC “Why do you work in Care” I always answer about the joy I get from spending time with our young people. But if they asked me “How do you Care?” I might give a bemused “I just do” or I might start giving practical examples of what I do on a daily basis. But dig a little deeper and the answer I give is this – ‘We care for our young people by using a restorative approach’.

So what does this mean? In every interaction with young people we provide support to develop or repair, and then sustain, relationships. Why do we do it? Sometimes this is because the relationship has been damaged through disagreements, arguments or negative behaviours and we need to help the young people make amends or to accept the other person making amends. Sometimes it is to support a new relationship forming between young people and new friends, workers or adults in their life.