Wexford Restorative Practices Partnership

Wexford Restorative Practices Partnership (WRPP) is a multi-agency body established in 2016 with the objective of developing restorative practices throughout County Wexford.

 

Wexford Restorative Justice Service has produced a new leaflet advertising its service.

If you would like supplies of this leaflet please contact wexfordrj@cornmarketproject.com or to find out more about the service, contact Roseanne Cahill, Restorative Justice Officer, on 0877701934

If you would like to download a pdf version of this leaflet please click on the images above.

WRPP eLearning Training Course 

 An Introduction to Restorative Practice

As a way of bringing introductory training in restorative practice to the widest audience in County Wexford, WRPP developed an online course. The primary funding for the course came from Healthy Ireland and allowed for an initial 200 places to be made available on a no cost basis. This initial group of 200 people from across County Wexford, representing management and front line workers, have now successfully completed the course. They included people from areas such as: Education, Criminal Justice, Social Care and Social Work, Youth Services, Community Development and other areas where the restorative practice approach can support people who deal with conflict or potential conflict. The course has been extremely well received and our committee are now looking at ways of making it more widely available. If you are interested in undertaking this course please contact WRPP.

WRPP Launches eLearning Training Course

Wexford Restorative Practices Partnership launched a new and exciting resource for County Wexford, a completely online eLearning training course titled ‘An Introduction to Restorative Practices’ on Friday 11th December 2020. The Mayor of Wexford, Cllr. Leonard Kelly officiated at the event and Brian Kehoe, CEO of Wexford Local Development, who host the WRPP, officially launched the course. The course is being made available free to 200 frontline staff across County Wexford working in the areas of Education, Youth Services, Community Development, Social Care/Social Work and Criminal Justice.

During International Restorative Justice Week 2020, The Cornmarket Project in County Wexford launched their new Restorative Justice Service on Friday 20th November 2020. The key note address at the launch was delivered by Minister of State at the Department of Justice, James Brown TD, and other speakers included Ursula Fernee, head of the Restorative Justice and Victims Unit in the Probation Service, Tim Chapman, Chairman of the European Forum for Restorative Justice and Michael Wall, Chairman of Wexford Local Development.

International Restorative Justice Week 2019

To celebrate International Restorative Justice Week 19th to 26th November 2019, the Cornmarket Project will be screening the film ‘A Conversation’ in their premises at Block A, Old County Hall, Spawell Road on Monday 19th November between 11.30 and 13.00 with soup and sandwiches after the event.

The film: A CONVERSATION is an important contribution to the ongoing discourse on restorative justice. The film is based on a theatre performance of a real case where two families meet in the presence of a facilitator, the parents of a young woman who was raped and murdered and the family of the offender.

Wexford Restorative Practices Partnership held a very successful conference in the River Bank Hotel Enniscorthy on 14th November 2018 on the theme of “Embedding Restorative Practices in County Wexford”. Seventy five delegates from the areas of education, youth services, criminal justice and community development, together with community activists and political representatives, gathered to hear a panel of experts speaking on the benefits of embedding restorative practices in their services, communities and work.

A section of the audience listening to speakers at the conference.

'Circle Time' during one of the three workshops at the conference.

Sheila Barrett, Wexford CYPSC, Ursula Fernee, National Lead on RJ with Probation Service, Sandra Dardis, Wexford Probation Service, Carol Long, Wexford Probation Service, Tony Kennedy, Senior Manager, Tusla, Michele Weir, Senior Probation Officer, Wexford, Anna Mai Corcoran, Wexford Probation Service, Veronica Brooks, Wexford Probation Service and Garda Alan Byrne, JLO, Wexford.

Frank Murphy, Restorative Practices trainer and school principal, Brian Kehoe, CEO, Wexford Local Development, Phyllida Clarke, Restorative Practices trainer, Tony Kennedy, Senior Manager, Tusla, Alan Byrne, Garda JLO, Wexford, Tim Chapman, Chairman of European Restorative Justice Forum.

Welcome to the Wexford Restorative Practices Partnership

Restorative Practices (RP), based on the philosophy and principles of restorative justice, provide an underpinning ethos and philosophy for making, maintaining and repairing relationships and for fostering a sense of social responsibility and shared accountability. It involves:

  • Viewing wrongdoing through a ‘relational’ lens – understanding that harm has been done to people and relationships
  • Understanding that when such harm is done, it creates obligations and liabilities
  • Focusing on repairing the harm and making things right

When harm has been caused by inappropriate, sometimes thoughtless, negative behaviour then all sides need:

  • a chance to tell their side of the story and feel heard
  • to understand better how the situation happened
  • to understand how it can be avoided another time
  • to feel understood by the others involved
  • to find a way to move on and feel better about themselves

Restorative Practice can take many forms including using restorative language, having restorative conversations, holding circle time, restorative conferencing etc. When things go wrong you:

  • Involve those responsible for and those affected by the behaviour in solving the problem
  • Provide high levels of support for all parties, whether perpetrators or those affected
  • Address the needs of all those involved in harmful incidents
  • Provide strong messages and reminders about what behaviours are acceptable and unacceptable 

There are many challenges in implementing an organisation or institution-wide approach since the restorative way challenges deeply-held notions about power and control and the urge to make things unpleasant for someone when they have done something wrong or ‘misbehaved’.

Restorative practices have been effectively incorporated into the work of groups and organisations in areas diverse as:

  • Early Years
  • Family Centres
  • Primary Schools
  • Secondary Schools
  • Further Education
  • Special Education
  • Residential services
  • Homeless hostels and services
  • Police
  • Youth Justice Service
  • Probation
  • Prison Service
  • Voluntary and community organisations
  • Health Services
  • Social Work and Social Services
  • Housing Associations
  • Victim Support
  • Children, Young People and Families
  • Elderly and Vulnerable Adults
  • Private Businesses
  • Local Authority Departments and Services

At the launch of the new Wexford Restorative Practices Partnership (WRPP) website in Clayton Whites Hotel in June 2018 (from left) back – Maeve O’Byrne (WLD), Tommy Somers, Terry O’Neill, Cllr Oisín O’Connell, Tony Kennedy, Garda Alan Quirke, Cllr Ger Carthy, Frank Murphy, Sheila Barrett, Michelle Weir, Sinead O’Hara and Garda Sgt Cormac Sheridan; seated – Brian Kehoe, Cllr Barbara Anne Murphy, Michael Wall, Paul Delaney (Chairman), James Browne TD, Cllr Mary Farrell and Rosanne Cahill

 

Restorative Practices at work in communities

 

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