Restorative Practice Implementation Guidance

Restorative Practice Implementation Policy

1. Purpose

This guidance sets out the organisational commitment to embedding restorative practice across all areas of social work. It provides a clear framework for how restorative principles will be integrated into everyday practice, decision-making, leadership, and organisational culture. The aim is to strengthen relationships, improve outcomes for children and families, and create a more humane, collaborative, and effective social care system.

2. Scope

This policy applies to:

• All social work practitioners
• Team managers and senior leaders
• Multi-agency partners working within safeguarding arrangements
• Commissioned services delivering support to children, families, and adults
• Administrative and support staff involved in service delivery

3. Policy Statement

The organisation is committed to becoming a restorative organisation. Restorative practice will be embedded as a core approach to working with children, families, carers, communities, and colleagues. This means:

• Prioritising relationships
• Promoting dignity, voice, and accountability
• Reducing shame-based practice
• Supporting collaborative problem-solving
• Ensuring decisions are made with families, not for them

Restorative practice aligns with our statutory duties, professional values, and commitment to trauma-informed, anti-oppressive practice.

4. Definitions

Restorative Practice

A relational approach that focuses on building, maintaining, and repairing relationships. It emphasises accountability, voice, respect, and collaborative problem-solving.

Restorative Conversations

Structured dialogues using restorative questions to explore what happened, who was affected, and what needs to happen next.

Restorative Meetings

Formal or semi-formal meetings using restorative principles to address harm, conflict, planning, or decision-making.

Restorative Organisation

An organisation that models restorative values internally through leadership, supervision, communication, and conflict resolution.

5. Principles

All staff must work in accordance with the following restorative principles:

• Respect: Treat all individuals with dignity and fairness.
• Voice: Ensure everyone affected has the opportunity to speak and be heard.
• Accountability: Support individuals to take responsibility without shame or blame.
• Repair: Focus on repairing harm and restoring relationships.
• Collaboration: Work with families, not to or for them.
• Transparency: Be open about concerns, decisions, and expectations.
• Strengths-based practice: Recognise resilience, capacity, and potential.

6. Implementation Requirements

6.1 Training and Development

The organisation will:

• Provide mandatory restorative practice training for all staff.
• Offer advanced training for managers, supervisors, and restorative champions.
• Ensure training is experiential, reflective, and aligned with trauma-informed practice.
• Include restorative practice in induction for all new staff.

6.2 Restorative Conversations in Daily Practice

Practitioners are expected to:

• Use restorative questions in assessments, home visits, and planning meetings.
• Approach conflict with curiosity rather than judgement.
• Support families to reflect on harm, impact, and responsibility.
• Avoid language that shames, labels, or disempowers.

6.3 Restorative Meetings and Processes

Managers must ensure that restorative approaches are used in:

• Child protection conferences
• Family Group Conferences
• Core group meetings
• Placement stability meetings
• Youth justice interventions
• Multi-agency planning meetings

Restorative circles may be used for complex or high-conflict situations.

6.4 Restorative Supervision and Team Culture

Supervision must:

• Be reflective, relational, and supportive
• Encourage emotional regulation and critical thinking
• Address mistakes without blame
• Promote practitioner wellbeing

Teams will use restorative circles to build cohesion, address conflict, and support reflective learning.

6.5 Leadership Responsibilities

Leaders must:

• Model restorative behaviour in all interactions
• Promote psychological safety
• Address conflict restoratively
• Ensure policies and procedures align with restorative values
• Protect time for reflective practice and relationship-building
• Monitor implementation and remove barriers to practice

6.6 Multi-Agency Alignment

The organisation will work with partners to:

• Develop shared restorative language
• Provide joint training opportunities
• Use restorative approaches in multi-agency meetings
• Promote consistent relational practice across systems

7. Practice Expectations

All staff must:

• Listen deeply before acting
• Share power wherever possible
• Be transparent about concerns and decisions
• Recognise the impact of trauma on behaviour
• Prioritise emotional safety in all interactions
• Support families to co-design plans and solutions
• Use strengths-based, non-judgemental language

8. Monitoring and Evaluation

Implementation will be monitored through:

• Supervision audits
• Feedback from children, families, and carers
• Staff wellbeing surveys
• Case file audits
• Complaints and compliments analysis
• Multi-agency feedback
• Outcome measures related to engagement, conflict reduction, and sustainability of plans

Findings will inform continuous improvement and future training needs.

9. Governance and Accountability

• The Director of Children’s Services (or equivalent) holds strategic responsibility for this policy.
• Heads of Service and Team Managers are responsible for operational implementation.
• All staff are accountable for embedding restorative practice in their daily work.
• The Workforce Development Team will oversee training and professional development.

10. Review Cycle

This policy will be reviewed every two years, or sooner if:

• Legislation changes
• New evidence emerges
• Organisational priorities shift
• Feedback indicates the need for revision

Conclusion

Restorative practice is central to delivering compassionate, effective, and ethical social work. By embedding restorative principles across our organisation, we commit to working in ways that honour dignity, strengthen relationships and support meaningful, sustainable change for children, families and communities.