Schools

Drawing on restorative and relational practice to co-create solutions with all stakeholders.

Solution-focused Collaboration

Our work with schools starts with a conversation about existing strengths and needs, along with intended outcomes. Some of the common themes we are asked to address:

Building positive mental health and wellbeing as a whole school initiative
Fostering positive relationships that underpin the school’s achievement agenda
More options for responses to challenging behaviour
Pupils feeling safe and happy at school
Making ‘fair process’ visible and successful
Introducing different and better ways to help prevent exclusions
Tackling anti-social behaviour
Better communication with parents/carers

“I have used my RP skills to help a student in Year 7.”

“It is essential that restorative thinking / practice is central to the ethos and running of the school. It will be an essential part of school improvement and behaviour development.”

“Learning about the different sections of the brain helped me understand how my child might be feeling at a particular time.”

How we Engage

We provide engagement options to suit your timetable and budget.

We promote blended learning to meet specific needs, a combination of :

Consultation
e-Learning CPD
Face to face training/coaching
Zoom/Teams training/coaching
Action Learning Sets
Supervisions
Guided self-study

Outcomes with Schools

We’ve achieved some notable outcomes with primary, secondary and special schools, including:

Positive mental health and well-being: talking about thoughts, feelings and behaviour, and strategies to manage strong or uncomfortable feelings, is normalised
50% reduction in staff absence over a 1-year period
Staff CPD transfering to daily practice
Reduction in fixed term and permanent exclusions
Pupils reporting feeling safer at school
Data to show improved attendance
Data to confirm improved attainment across key stages
Reduction in anti-social behaviour in and around school
Parents/carers reporting improved relationships with school staff

Current and recent School projects

2022: DfE grant funded senior mental health lead training. Online self-paced learning alongside real time peer learning.

2020-21: Developing and producing a suite of e-Learning CPD courses with Liverpool Schools.

2020-21: Trauma Informed Strategic Support for Merseyside Schools (Merseyside VRP).

2018 – 21: Working with the Families Team at Liverpool City Council and primary and secondary schools in Liverpool to implement whole school restorative and relational practice.

2015 – 17: Pilot to develop whole school restorative practice with Liverpool Schools. This project has been awarded the i-Network innovation award for ‘Transforming and Innovating Public Services’ (November 2018).

2012 – ongoing: Restorative Thinking curriculum programmes and training with schools in England, Wales and Scotland. Our primary curriculum programme has been awarded a Teach Primary Resource Award in the PSHE/Citizenship category (October 2018).

Senior Mental Health Leads Training – DfE Assured

Restorative Thinking’s e-Learning CPD course, ‘Fostering Restorative Practice in Schools‘, alongside targeted support with our team, has met the DfE quality criteria for grant funded senior mental health lead training.

Anti-Bullying Alliance.

We work in partnership with the Anti-Bullying Alliance, producing resources and data to show the impact of restorative practice as an anti-bullying strategy. Follow this link to find out how we work together.

Training Provider Quality Mark

Restorative Thinking holds the Restorative Service Quality Mark (RSQM), the Training Provider Quality Mark (TPQM), the CANparent Quality Mark and the i-Network Innovation Award for ‘Transforming and Innovating Public Services’ (November 2018).

Award winning restorative practice project with Liverpool Schools

In 2015 Restorative Thinking (RT) was commissioned by Liverpool City Council (LCC) to undertake a restorative practice pilot with six schools in Liverpool, to implement whole school restorative practice. RT training, coaching and modelling with all six schools was needs-based and each school developed its own individual ‘road map’ for the two year pilot and beyond. This project was funded by the Families’ Strategic Group, LCC, and won the i-Network Innovation Award for ‘Transforming and Innovating Public Services’ (November 2018). The pilot has led to a Restorative Practice Project in Liverpool involving a further fifteen schools (to 2021) and an e-Learning CPD project (to be launched in 2021).

These short films have been developed with pupils and staff at the schools involved in the pilot and are freely available for schools to use as part of Continuing Professional Development.

This film shows how restorative practice was developed as a whole school model at Pinehurst Primary School and King David Primary School in Liverpool.

This film shows how restorative practice was developed as a whole school approach at the Academy of Saint Francis of Assisi in Liverpool.

This five minute film shows how circle time, check-in and check-out are supporting the development of emotional literacy and problem solving, strengthening relationships and developing character in addition to supporting teaching and learning.

This film shows how pupils take on the role of restorative practice peer mentors.

This two minute film shows two secondary pupils speaking about their experiences of restorative practice.

Restorative Thinking

Get in touch with us. We'd love to start a conversation.

E-Learning

Access our e-Learning CPD courses via this link.