Supported accommodation providers are now regulated under the Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023 and inspected by Ofsted under the Social Care Common Inspection Framework (SCCIF). These frameworks place a strong emphasis on the quality of relationships, safety, behaviour management, and the lived experiences and progress of young people.

Restorative Practice directly supports providers to meet these expectations.

This training will help you:

• Strengthen your ability to meet Protection Standards by building trusting relationships where young people feel safe, heard and able to talk about risks
• Deliver the Support Standard by developing young people’s independence, accountability and emotional regulation skills
• Evidence a positive behaviour management approach, as required by regulation, by moving away from punitive responses towards repairing harm and building understanding
• Create a consistent, relational culture that aligns with the Leadership and Management Standard

Ofsted inspections focus on whether young people:

• Feel safe
• Have positive relationships with staff
• Are making progress towards independence
• Are listened to and involved in decisions about their lives

Restorative Practice provides a clear, practical framework for achieving all of these.

Ultimately, this approach is not an “add-on” — it is a way of working that:

• Improves young people’s day-to-day experiences
• Reduces conflict and placement breakdown
• Strengthens safeguarding
• Supports positive inspection outcomes

Key Message for Providers

Restorative Practice helps you evidence good practice against the very standards you are inspected on — by embedding a culture of respect, accountability and strong relationships in your service.

Education providers are inspected under the Ofsted Education Inspection Framework (EIF), which sets out how schools and colleges are evaluated on the quality of education, behaviour, personal development, safeguarding and leadership.

The framework increasingly emphasises:

• Behaviour and attitudes
• Personal development and wellbeing
• Inclusion and relationships
• Safeguarding culture

Restorative Practice directly supports providers to meet these expectations.

What This Training Will Help You Achieve

This training will support you to:

• Improve behaviour and attitudes by reducing conflict, repairing harm and promoting accountability rather than relying on sanctions
• Strengthen safeguarding culture by building trusting relationships where pupils feel safe to share concerns
• Enhance personal development and wellbeing by developing pupils’ communication, emotional literacy and resilience
• Promote inclusion and belonging, ensuring pupils feel heard, respected and part of the school community
• Embed a consistent, relational approach that supports strong leadership and whole-school culture

What Ofsted Is Looking For

During inspection, Ofsted focuses on whether pupils:

• Feel safe and supported
• Demonstrate positive behaviour and attitudes to learning
• Develop socially, emotionally and as individuals
• Experience positive relationships with staff
• Feel listened to and included in school life

Inspectors also consider whether schools have a positive safeguarding culture that puts pupils’ interests first.

Restorative Practice provides a clear, practical framework for achieving all of these.

Why Restorative Practice Is Relevant

Restorative Practice is not an “add-on” — it is a way of working that aligns directly with inspection expectations by:

• Creating calm, respectful environments that improve behaviour and engagement
• Supporting pupils to take responsibility and repair harm
• Building strong relationships that underpin learning and safeguarding
• Promoting pupil voice, which strengthensinclusion and belonging
• Developing the social and emotional skills that drive long-term outcomes

Key Message for Education Providers

Restorative Practice helps you evidence the core things Ofsted is looking for — positive relationships, effective behaviour approaches, strong safeguarding culture, and meaningful personal development — all of which underpin successful inspection outcomes

Children’s homes are regulated under the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015, which set out 9 Quality Standards, including:

• Positive relationships
• Protection of children
• Behaviour and support
• Children’s views, wishes and feelings
• Leadership and management

These are inspected by Ofsted under the Social Care Common Inspection Framework (SCCIF), which focuses on:

• Children’s experiences and progress
• How well children are helped and protected
• The effectiveness of leaders and managers

At the centre of inspection is a key question:

“What is life like for children living in this home?”

What This Training Will Help You Achieve

This training will support you to:

• Strengthen the Positive Relationships Standard by building trusting, respectful relationships between staff and children
• Improve behaviour support, moving from control and consequences to understanding, repair and accountability
• Enhance safeguarding practice by creating an environment where children feel safe to share worries and risks
• Promote children’s voice, wishes and feelings, ensuring they are actively involved in resolving issues that affect them
• Embed a consistent, trauma-informed culture that supports effective leadership and management

What Ofsted Is Looking For

During inspection, Ofsted places strong emphasis on:

• The quality of relationships between staff and children
• Whether children feel safe, settled and understood
• How effectively staff respond to behaviour and conflict
• Whether children are making progress emotionally, socially and developmentally
• How well children’s views are listened to and acted upon

Inspectors are less focused on policies, and more on:

The real, day-to-day lived experience of children in the home

Why Restorative Practice Is Relevant

Restorative Practice directly supports the standards and inspection expectations by:

• Building safe, trusting relationships that underpin safeguarding
• Providing a clear, child-centred approach to behaviour and conflict resolution
• Supporting children to take responsibility and repair harm, rather than being punished
• Strengthening children’s voice and participation
• Creating a calm, consistent environment that improves placement stability

It aligns particularly strongly with:

• ✅ Positive Relationships Standard
• ✅ Protection of Children Standard
• ✅ Children’s Views, Wishes and Feelings Standard
• ✅ Leadership and Management Standard

Impact on Inspection Outcomes

Homes that embed restorative approaches are better able to evidence:

• Children who feel listened to, respected and safe
• Reduced incidents and improved behaviour stability
• Strong, consistent relationships across the staff team
• Clear examples of children learning, developing and making progress
• A positive, nurturing culture that inspectors can see in everyday practice

Key Message for Residential Providers

Restorative Practice is not an optional approach — it is a practical way to deliver and evidence the core standards that Ofsted inspects, particularly around relationships, safeguarding, behaviour and children’s lived experience.

Youth Justice Services are inspected by HM Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) under the national Youth Justice Inspection Standards (2025). These inspections focus on:

• The quality of work with children
• Whether services support positive change and reduce reoffending
• How well children and communities are kept safe

The framework is structured around key areas:

• Organisational delivery (leadership, partnerships, governance)
• Work with children (direct practice, engagement, intervention)
• Work with victims

At the centre of inspection is a core principle:

Are we delivering meaningful, relational work that supports children to make positive change and keeps people safe?

What This Training Will Help You Achieve

This training will support you to:

• Strengthen engagement with children, particularly those who are reluctant or resistant
• Improve the quality of direct work and interventions, focusing on understanding behaviour and supporting change
• Enhance safeguarding practice, ensuring risks are identified, discussed and responded to effectively
• Promote children’s voice and participation, ensuring they are actively involved in decision-making
• Embed a consistent, relational approach that supports desistance and reduces reoffending.

What Inspectors Are Looking For

HMIP inspections focus strongly on:

• The quality of relationships between practitioners and children
• Whether children are understood as individuals, including their experiences, risks and strengths
• How effectively practitioners support behaviour change and decision-making
• Whether children feel listened to, respected and involved
• How well services contribute to safety for the child and the wider community

There is also a clear expectation that services:

• Use the views of children and families to shape delivery
• Deliver personalised, responsive support rather than one-size-fits-all approaches

Why Restorative Practice Is Relevant

Restorative Practice directly supports the aims of youth justice by:

• Building trusting, respectful relationships that improve engagement
• Providing a clear framework foraddressing harm and accountability
• Supporting children to understand the impact of their behaviour on others (including victims)
• Developing key skills linked to desistance:
  • communication
  • empathy
  • emotional regulation
• Strengthening work with victims, through repairing harm and promoting understanding

This aligns strongly with:

• ✅ Work with children (engagement, assessment, intervention)
• ✅ Safeguarding and risk management
• ✅ Victims’ standard (understanding and repairing harm)
• ✅ Leadership expectations around relational, child-centred practice

Impact on Inspection Outcomes

Services that embed restorative approaches are better able to evidence:

• Children who are engaged, motivated and participating in their plans
• Improved compliance and reduced reoffending
• Strong, consistent practitioner-child relationships
• Clear evidence of children understanding and taking responsibility for harm
• A culture that prioritises positive change, safety and individualised support

Key Message for Youth Justice Services

Restorative Practice provides a practical way to deliver what HMIP is inspecting — high-quality, relational work that supports children to make positive changes, understand harm, and keep themselves and others safe.