Writing Wrongs – Lancashire Youth Offending Team

Published:

Summary:

  • Engage young people in restorative practices and approaches
  • Support young people to start looking at some of the impact of their actions on others
  • Support young people to start reflecting on themselves and their actions, the events leading up to an incident, and the consequences.

Description

The programmes can be used in a number of ways, as part of an organisation’s wider approach to Restorative Practice, or as a starting point for introducing Restorative Approaches to individuals or groups.

The Writing Wrongs framework is used with the facilitator and young person working one-to-one, or with groups, encouraging young people to address the motives for wrongdoing and to gauge the full impact on the wronged person/people and the wider community. Where appropriate, the Writing Wrongs programme can lead to the wrongdoer/s writing a meaningful and sincere letter of apology, a Restorative Plan and/or a Restorative Contract.

Writing Wrongs is a practical tool, with detailed session plans and resource sheets to support effective delivery of the programme. The sessions are interactive and visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learning styles are all catered for. The CD-ROM provides the facility to deliver the programme electronically also. The programme can be used as stand alone or as the full six sessions programme, and can be used for any level offence.

Training is required in order to be able to deliver the programme or sessions to young people.

Implementing the Practice:

  • In Lancashire YOS they are currently running the sessions on a 1:1 and the programme is flexible enough that with some young people, individual sessions are used, as opposed to the whole programme.
  • Lancashire YOS have found this this programme works particularly well with younger young people, specifically males who have an interest in football as some of the sessions have a football theme running through them.
  • Lancashire YOS are currently considering running the whole Writing Wrongs programme as part of their Junior Attendance Centre programme.

Contact:

YOS: Lancashire Youth Offending Team
Name: Carolyn Entwistle
Email: Carolyn.entwistle@lancashire.gov.uk
Source Organisation: Restorative Justice and Education Services
Name:  Andy Winters
Telephone:  07932 665546
Email: andy@writing-wrongs.org
Source Web Details: www.writing-wrongs.org