Restorative Practices Conference
Event celebrates progress made in Wiltshire
CRIMINAL justice agency staff from Wiltshire joined .jpg)
practitioners from Wiltshire’s schools and local authorities for a Restorative Practices conference.
The event in Trowbridge on March 9 was organised by Griff Daniels, Community Involvement Manager within the Wiltshire Youth Offending Service.
Restorative practice aims to help people take responsibility for their actions, understand the consequences of their behaviour and apologise to others.
As part of its successful preventative programme, the Youth Justice Board has, for the past three years, funded a number of training courses for teachers and their allies in Wiltshire in the use of restorative practices.
The conference featured contributions from adults and school students who have been benefitting from the use of restorative practices since 2005.
Delegates included representatives from Wiltshire Police, Wiltshire Youth Offending Service and Her Majesty’s Courts Service.
Griff said: “Restorative practices, implemented strategically, are clearly having a positive effect upon behaviour generally, as well as reducing the level of bullying, suspensions and exclusions.”
The event was opened by Carolyn Godfrey, Children, Education and Families director at Wiltshire County Council.
This was followed by speeches from the Youth Justice Board’s Graham Robb (pictured left), Richard Parker, Resources, Improvement and Young People assistant director at Wiltshire County Council, and Mark Finnis, the lead trainer at the Hull Centre for Restorative Practice.
There was also a presentation by staff and students from George Ward School, Melksham, which highlighted how the use of restorative practice has benefitted them.
Later on in the day, there were workshops to attend on the use of restorative practice in the community, schools and policing, while the conference was concluded with a question and answer session.
The panel included speakers from the morning’s sessions.