Independent Thinking on Restorative Practice: Building relationships, improving behaviour and creating stronger communities (Independent Thinking On ... series)

Great book restorative practice is what we should be doing with school kids.Brilliant

I am slightly gutted that Mark has written this incredible book. So much of it resonates with my values, beliefs and experience across nearly thirty years working in education that I feel it is a book I might have written myself… and I am secretly a bit annoyed that he got there first!While reading, I found myself nodding, smiling and exclaiming positively on many many occasions. The sections on culture, community and relationships are full of language, principles and ideas that have permeated my practice and link to the work of many other like-minded educationalists who are transforming schools into relational and nurturing environments.That said, I actually know that I couldn’t have written this book myself and that Mark, with his vast experience and knowledge of restorative practice, was exactly the man for the job.Many, many people talk about “restorative” work in schools and might think they know what it is. However, I am not aware of any other book that defines so succinctly, powerfully and helpfully what it is, why it is needed and how adults working with children can use it to “ inspire communities to feel able to shape their own futures. This is aimed at providing them with the confidence to resolve their own problems and generate their own values.” (Page 8)Mark is a visionary, a peacemaker and an idealist who wants to change both school and societal culture to become more caring, compassionate and emotionally intelligent. But he is also down to earth, human and full of humour and sensitivity in the way he explains to us how we can help people to resolve conflict, listen, understand and empathise.The book clearly identifies the differences between restorative justice and restorative practice and provides scripts, models and frameworks that allow any adult to start working restoratively and approach “difficult” conversations with courage and confidence.I would highly recommend this book to anyone working in education. However, it is particularly relevant to anyone working in Scotland and using the RespectMe framework for addressing and eliminating bullying behaviour, which has restorative practice at its heart.

Mark Finnis has boiled an extraordinary depth of wisdom, theory and experience into a pragmatic how to guide for practice. Whilst this book uses examples directly applicable to education, the approach and techniques offered apply equally well to any setting in which relationships can unlock potential. I am directly applying ideas from this book to my practice in social work, school leadership and as a parent.In social work this has meant repair of previously stuck and damaged relationships in ways that have enabled meaningful practice to once again occur. As a Dad I have gained an understanding, and directly used techniques that have enabled me to get my love felt, helped my boys feel heard and for us to approach and unpick what had once seemed impossible obstacles, guaranteed meltdown material. In education this is providing new language and technique for a practice of inclusion over exclusion, and that sets and resets the conditions for relationships to work, one to one, one to thirty, across whole schools and trusts.This is made possible because the deep theoretical base for this book’s ideas are covered with a lightness that makes them easy to digest and apply. The strong and robust base for the relational and organisational ideas and techniques offered are barely noticeable but always there. Chapter by chapter the book conveys, with great clarity, both an underlying approach and a series of methods to enact that approach, within ourselves, with our children, our colleagues and across our organisations.For any person or organisation frustrated by systems of compliance, assessment, behavioural management and organisational tension, this book offers a way forward. For anyone already deeply committed to relational practice, this book offers an excellent framework and some excellent ideas around which it is very straightforward to apply what you already know. I thoroughly recommended this simply put yet deeply insightful offering.

The content is very useful and I look forward to seeing itbin action on school.My only complaint is that it has not been printed following good practice guidelines for readability. I have to limit my time reading it due to the typeface choosen as it gives me headache. I am also dyslexic and find it difficult to live with pages where you can half see the text on the other side of the page. Why do publishers especially of school publications not set an example of good readability?

I only read halfway through as I’m very busy Mum But as soon red better