Southampton has ambitions to be a restorative city and the use of restorative practice is becoming embedded in all of our work with children, families, and partners.
When working with neglect, practitioners will be focusing on parents making some changes to their behaviour in order that the child receives better care. Restorative principles such as respect, positive regard and empowerment create the type of relationship in which change is more likely to take place.
Working restoratively means that practitioners have a responsibility to offer both 'high support' and 'high challenge' to families and to each other in order to respond robustly to neglect. The use of restorative communication techniques such as the restorative questions in our assessments and plans can help with hearing the child and family’s stories, provide an accurate understanding of the effect of neglect whilst appropriately drawing on the strengths and solutions within the family to make things better for the child.
For support with effective questioning view the restorative practice presentation.
