Adapted from the Restorative Justice Council website: The Children’s Commissioner, Dr Maggie Atkinson, highlighted restorative approaches as good practice in managing pupils with challenging behaviour in her 2012 report into schools exclusions, They never give up on you. The report was the result of the first year of an ongoing inquiry into school exclusions by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner. On the prevention of, and alternatives to, exclusions, the report found that there was currently no guidance for schools on good...

Letter from pupil to RP Lead at Liverpool Academy, December 2015 “I would just like to tell you about the many ways that our restorative practice sessions have benefitted and helped me along with my school life. The RP sessions have also helped me at home to deal with pressure but also realise the importance of other people’s feelings and how my actions could change a bad situation for the better. I have learned to understand how our brain communicates and functions emotionally. My teachers and parents have seen a change in my attitude...

Restorative Thinking Limited is working with a cluster of Liverpool schools over a period of two years (from April 2015) to introduce and embed whole school restorative practices. The project is being externally evaluated and we are gathering feedback from SLT, teachers, whole school staff, pupils, Governors, parents and the wider school community.  We are delighted to receive the following impromptu feedback from Mrs Mary Williams, Deputy Head Teacher at Aigburth High School in Liverpool: “We have made in roads into how Restorative...

Terence Bevington has written an evaluation paper looking at restorative practices in schools.  Follow this link to read it.

Restorative Thinking delivered a training session with staff at the Acorn Free School in Lincoln last week, qualifying staff to Level 1 in restorative practices and use of the Restorative Thinking secondary toolkit. We received excellent feedback from the training session: Which parts did you find most interesting and helpful? The video about Endeavour’s use of restorative practice. Social Discipline Window. Lego DVD helpful, views of pupils. The idea of shame being such an important factor. Squares in squares window. The window/boxes in a...

Parent/carer feedback following delivery of the ‘Restorative Thinking Parenting Programme (Parenting without Conflict)’ in Bristol in June 2014. Two fathers and seven mothers joined this course, ranging in age from 20-49 years.  Participants feel they understand their child/ren’s behaviour and development 80% better following the course; understand their child/ren’s needs 80% better and feel they can now 85%  better meet their child/ren’s needs and deal better with behaviour.  All participants spoke highly of...