It has become widely recognised that Restorative Approaches can have a beneficial effect in many settings. These include:-

  • Youth Offending
  • Youth Offending Institutions and the Secure Estate
  • Residential Care Settings
  • Foster Placements
  • Policing
  • Special Education/ Alternative Curriculum
  • Teenage Domestic Violence in the Home

Over the last sixteen years we have become highly experienced in delivering training to areas outside of Education. Our Director Lynne Russell has direct experience of working within a Youth Offending Team and has built on this experience to deliver training to Youth Offending Teams, Secure Estate and YOI’s, Looked After Children within both a Residential Care Home setting and directly with Foster Carers.

Restorative Practices within Residential Care Settings

Restorative justice is a term used to describe processes that aim to address the harm caused by a criminal offence or a non-criminal incident. At the heart of restorative justice is the principle that via a method of structured communication, victims and perpetrators can discuss how they were affected by an incident and can explore what needs to happen to repair the harm caused (Youth Justice Board, 2004).

Marshall (1999) proposed a definition of restorative justice which is frequently cited in the literature. Restorative justice is defined as: "…a process whereby all the parties with a stake in a particular offence come together to resolve collectively how to deal with the aftermath of the offence and its implications for the future".

Children and young people within residential care are often the most vulnerable within our communities.

Restorative approaches are often highly effective when used to resolve issues such as:

  • Assaults between residents/pupils/young people
  • Assaults on staff
  • Conflict between residents
  • Conflict between residents and staff
  • Bullying
  • Racially motivated incidents
  • Incidents of rule breaking
  • Criminal damage

The aim of all restorative process are to explore an incident or situation, to help the young person to reflect, explore responsibility, look at ways to avoid a similar situation in the future and to find a way to move on. Restorative approaches achieves this by btinging all parties together to explore what has happened, whose been affected and reach an agreement as to how the harm can be repaired and how to avoid the same situation happening again in the future.

Types of restorative approaches are:

One on One Individual Restorative Meetings/Conversation - A discussion between a resident and a trained member of staff, with the aim of obtaining a restorative solution to an incident using restorative language and outcomes. The meeting draws on the principles of restorative justice, using some of the questions a facilitator would use in a restorative conference. These conversations can be useful with both a harmer and harmed person allowing both sides to learn positive solutions to conflict.

Informal restorative discussions or meetings - An impromptu non prepared discussion or meeting between those in conflict and a trained neutral member of staff. These discussions offer an opportunity to unpick incidents that have just happened and look to resolutions between parties. These discussions would usually involve face-to-face meetings but can involve shuttle mediation between parties if necessary.

Restorative Justice Conferencing - A face to face meeting between a trained conference facilitator, usually a member of staff, with those involved with in a issue of conflict. The aim of the meeting is for all parties to explore what has happened, whose been affected and reach an agreement as to how the harm can be repaired and how to avoid the same situation happening again in the future.

Community/Group Conferencing - Involving a larger number of participants where an issue either general or specific can be explored and resolved by using a framework of restorative language and outcomes. These meetings allow a wider group learning where empathy, social skills and communication skills can be developed as well as conflict resolved in a positive way that is open so all can learn from it.

Benefits of using restorative approaches include a reduction in:

  • Disruptive behaviour
  • Minor criminal damage
  • Number of police call outs
  • Reduction in the breakdown of foster placements
  • Young people entering the CJS
  • Missing from care episodes
  • Use of restraints
  • Assaults
  • Racially motivated incidents
  • Bullying

Benefits of using restorative approaches to the victim:

  • Learn about the harm they caused
  • Acknowledge that harm
  • Explain what happened
  • Opportunity to apologise
  • Attempt to repair the harm caused
  • Reduces re-offending

Restorative Justice and Youth Offending

The Youth Justice Board's publication Key Elements of Effective Practice: Restorative Justice defines the key aims or outcomes of restorative justice as:

  •  victim satisfaction - reducing the fear of the victim and ensuring they feel 'paid back' for the harm that has been done to them
  • engagement with the young person - to ensure that they are aware of the consequences of their actions, have the opportunity to make reparation and agree a plan for their restoration in the community
  • creation of community capital - increasing public confidence in the criminal justice system.

The basic principles include:

  • putting things right and healing relationships, thereby giving high satisfaction to victims and reducing reoffending
  • ensuring that those directly affected by crime are involved in the process and that their wishes are given careful consideration
  • making positive outcomes for victim and community valid objectives, alongside changes in behaviour and attitude of the young person
  • addressing and being sensitive to particular cultural and special needs and be based on anti-discriminatory practice, with an understanding and respect for the diversity of different communities.

Restorative approaches that can be used within Youth Justice are:

  • Referral order youth offender panels
  • Direct reparation that benefits the victim
  • Indirect reparation unpaid work that benefits the community
  • Restorative conferencing
  • Family group conferencing
  • Victim-offender mediation
  • Youth restorative disposal