Our School Story:
The Catholic School of St Gregory the Great

Back before St Gregory’s embraced relational practice there was a lot of public and personal shaming going on. Names were written on the board and children were moved from sunshines to clouds and, in some cases, children sat outside classrooms being tutted at by staff. Children were not taught behaviours but were expected to conform to social norms. If they were unable to follow those expectations they were punished. There were missed opportunities for perpetrators to learn from their mistakes. Although shouting from teachers wasn’t heard daily, it wasn’t a rare event.

Staff at the school were made aware of ‘When the Adults Change…’, alongside a local authority offer to train in relational practice. They had heard about the approach working at other schools and wanted to try it. They were looking for something both radical and practical. They wanted to build a school community where behaviour expectations were established clearly and communicated effectively.

Staff were brought onboard straight away, with multiple copies of ‘When the Adults Change…’ purchased and shared amongst them all. All visual shaming processes stopped overnight! A guiding group of staff was set up with oversight of the roll-out and development of the school’s strategic plan. This was broad-reaching, involving 14 staff from different roles. SLT have been trained in restorative practice and trauma-informed practice, and emotional coaching training has been offered to both staff and parents. Relational practice forms a large part of the induction of new staff and refresher training is provided twice yearly for new staff or for anyone who would like it.

St Gregory’s has worked hard to ensure that children are aware of all the important changes. School rules were honed down to four- respect each other, respect our school, be safe and learn well. Scripts have been created to ensure consistency amongst staff and to provide confidence that all children are receiving an equal offer. Restorative approaches introduced to the classrooms include calm areas in each of them, a sensory room to support regulation, zones of regulation displays and awareness and restorative stars. Regular restorative practice assemblies help keep the approach embedded with both pupils and staff.

St Gregory’s is now a leading school and guiding light for restorative practice in Gloucestershire and has trained local headteachers and schools in setting their strategic vision and in change management.