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Restorative justice guidelines

The Restorative Justice Training and Accreditation group was invited by Home Office Minister Paul Goggins to look at how high quality restorative justice practice could best be assured, through training and accreditation. The first 6 months of their work has been to identified the components which should form the basis for accreditation as a restorative justice practitioner. This definition of best practice forms the core of this report, and will inform the development of national occupational standards.

Title: Best practice guidance for restorative justice practitioners, to form the basis of training and accreditation
Authors: Training & Accreditation Policy Development Group
Number of pages: 22
Date published: March 2004

The report makes as much use as possible of existing definitions of good practice, and builds on the existing national occupational standards in restorative justice. The Youth Justice Board has identified evidence-based practice as key to effective practice across the piece, including in restorative justice.

The guidance maintains this evidence-based approach to best practice, and the group recognises that it will need to be amended in the light of future research and practice developments. The main areas of competency that existing national occupational standards do not cover, and where new material has been developed, are:

• managing and assessing risk in restorative processes

• selecting a restorative process appropriate to the particular case

• the particular skills needed for indirect restorative processes follow up after restorative contact, particularly ongoing monitoring of outcome agreements

• restorative elements of family group conferencing

The specific skills for which levels of competency are given are:

• Core knowledge and skills

• Preparation for restorative processes:

  • Assessing and managing risk

  • Informing participants about their options

  • Choosing the right process

• Facilitating restorative processes

  • Facilitating indirect restorative processes

  • Facilitating direct (face-to-face) restorative processes

  • Forming outcome agreements

  • Following-up

Download " Best practice guidance for restorative justice practitioners, to form the basis of training and accreditation" from the Home Office website PDF 140Kb

 

Last update: 30 March 2004