Highland Update (19/11/2005)

The Use of Restorative Practices In Highland

Highland has been involved in a Restorative Practice pilot project for 18 months. There are 11 schools in our pilot, 7 secondary schools and 4 primary schools. The schools have been developing RP in different ways. Some of the primary schools have focussed on developing Peer Mediation, others on developing the skills of auxiliary staff who are at the front line of managing conflict when it occurs in the playground.

In the secondary schools, it was mainly Guidance teachers who received initial training. Some schools quickly included support staff who worked in Pupil Support Bases and Home Link workers. Work within the secondary schools has included the use of mini-conferencing in disputes between pupils and extending and developing the mentoring role of pupils to include mediation.

Schools involved in the project were given a day of awareness raising at first. 4-day practitioner training using external training consultants followed this. It was considered important to establish a base of practitioners within each school who would be in a position to support each other. To date three tranches of practitioner training has occurred. The next phase of development is to train “trainers” within each pilot school. These people will, with support, be expected to take a lead role in developing practices within their own schools and, eventually, share their experiences with other schools within the Authority and assist with training across Highland.

After 18 months, indicators of success are beginning to emerge. These include;
• Clear lead from a schools’ Senior Management Team
• An on-going part of a school’s development plan over a number of years
• High priority being given to information dissemination and training
• Broad base of practitioners within schools that can support each other and on-going developments
• Range of training opportunities to be made available
• Targeted funding to be available

In the future it is planned to extend the use of Restorative practices to other schools and people working within education. It is anticipated that training will be offered to Behaviour Co-ordinators, Pupil Support teachers, Children’s’ Service Workers, Counsellors, Social Workers and others who work directly with children, young people and their families within Community Schools. Training will be offered at whole school level to interested schools and to school clusters.

Restorative Interventions in schools are not considered to operate in isolation of other approaches to managing behaviour that are developing within schools. A Highland Conference is planned that will share and disseminate knowledge about the differing approaches to the management of behaviour and how these can be integrated at school level.

The development of the use of Restorative practices in schools is seen as a long-term project in Highland; one that will become incorporated into the range of skills that are offered as part of an individual’s continuing professional development and as part of a whole school development programme.

Submitted by;
P.V.Barber
Co-ordinator, Restorative Practices
Highland