Restorative Practices National Conference
Delegates from all over Scotland gathered together in Aviemore on the 6th and 7th of October for the second national conference on restorative practices in school.
Organised by the Scottish Executive, this conference held a special focus on sharing Scottish practice after two and a half years’ investment in a national pilot of restorative practices in school. Details of the pilot, including updates from participating schools, can be found on this site. 150 delegates attended from a range of professional backgrounds, including headteachers, teachers, social work and community learning and development staff, educational psychologists, voluntary sector managers and practitioners, central education authority staff and representatives from the teaching unions and ITE institutions.
Besides healthy debate and critical questioning, a consensus emerged amongst delegates on a number of key themes:
• Restorative practices are increasingly in use because practitioners find that they work
• Restorative practices are not ‘an initiative’ – they are a glue that binds practice together
• Restorative Practices are not ‘one size fits all’ – they are flexible and need to be adapted to suit local circumstances
• Restorative Practices are not a soft option – they are about ‘doing something real’ with children and adults and can bring about long term changes in behaviour
• Restorative Practices are about the three ‘Rs’ – relationships, relationships, relationships
Speakers’ presentations are listed below, and can be downloaded from the panel to the right-hand side of the screen.
An authority perspective …
Restorative Practices and Integrated Children’s Services: Bill Alexander
Bill was appointed Head of Service for Highland Council in 2000 and is currently Acting Head of Social Work Services. He was a member of the Discipline Task Group in 2000-1.
Aiming Higher in North Lanarkshire: Brian Steele
Brian is Principal Psychologist in North Lanarkshire as well as the Lead Officer for Restorative Practices. He is involved in several programmes to promote positive behaviour, i.e. SI/FFI, PATHS, Reasoning and Reacting and Co-operative Learning.
The Strategy for Behaviour and Discipline in Fife: Bryan Kirkaldy
Bryan is a Senior Manager of Fife Council’s Education Service, leading on ASL/ Inclusion and Behaviour.
A headteacher perspective …
A HAS (Headteachers’ Association of Scotland) Perspective: Bill McGregor
Bill was previously Head Teacher of James Hamilton Academy in Kilmarnock and is currently the General Secretary of Headteachers’ Association of Scotland.
A national perspective …
Evaluation of the National Pilot of Restorative Practices in Schools: Gwynedd Lloyd
Gwynedd is Head of the Department of Educational Studies within the University of Edinburgh. Her area of expertise includes school inclusion, exclusion, ADHD and medicalisation of problem behaviours.
The restorative journey …
Restorative Justice in Educational Settings (summary and full versions): Belinda Hopkins
Belinda is a Director of Transforming Conflict who support schools and the Looked After Children sector in establishing a restorative approach. She has been involved in the field of Restorative Practices for 12 years and is the author of ‘Just School’, which describes how to implement a whole-school restorative practices approach.
And the journey to excellence …
How Good is our School? The Journey to Excellence: David Watt
David was part the team in HMIe that produced ‘Case Studies of Good Practice in Improving the Climate for Learning’ (2006). He was also a member of the Discipline Task Group.
