Restorative approaches in Norfolk annual report 2011-12
Norfolk aims to be a Restorative County by 2015. It aims to do this by building on momentum from the success of restorative justice approaches that have already been used in criminal justice, children’s residential units, schools and communities.
Its achievements and vision are laid out in their 2011-12 annual report. The year saw many key achievements mainly focused on the ongoing training and development of staff across services in the county, including the use of an online module for broad access.
Developments included sharing learning across ‘hub schools’ and the training of over 400 staff which resulted in improved attendance and attainment, and a decrease in pupil exclusions.
Further, the introduction of ‘community circles’ in Acle and Brundall decreased antisocial behaviour call outs to the police, and increased victim satisfaction in these areas.
There were also changes implemented in Short Stay Schools and Children’s Services Residential Units; such as staff training and conferences to embed the approaches and improve practice.
The annual report celebrates the achievements of Norfolk’s ethos and stresses how restorative justice supports and contributes to all other priorities in the county, such as ‘accountability’ and ‘customer focus’.