Trauma Informed Relational Practice

Molly Macleod (Restorative Practice Service Lead GCC)

After completing her teaching qualification in 1996, Molly decided to pursue a career working alongside disadvantaged and vulnerable young people. Knowing school to be a protective factor for most pupils, she has always been keen to understand why some are so disengaged from their education.

Molly is passionate about equitability, inclusion and enabling everyone to have a voice. She was introduced to Restorative Practice in 2016 and quickly gained an affinity with its ethos and principles. Since then, she has been working alongside a number of schools within Gloucestershire; implementing Restorative Approaches to support their inclusion offer and enable young people to re-engage in their learning.

Over the last few years it has become apparent to Molly that for some, the ability to fully engage in Restorative Practice relies on those around them having a better understanding the impact of trauma and ACES on behaviour. As a result, Molly is currently working with Schools, health and education professionals to develop a Trauma Informed Relational Approach for the county.

Melanie Warner (Operational Schools Lead GCC)

(Trauma Informed Relational Practice Implementation Lead)

Mel has worked for Gloucestershire County Council for over 30 years. Her journey started out in Special Educational Needs before moving onto a project to reducing Exclusions in school. From there she spent some years as a Senior Education Welfare Officer before moving onto Families First. She took up her place in the Restorative Practice team two years ago working with schools and senior leaders to embed restorative practice and relational approaches into the systems for our children and young people.

Sam James (Trauma Informed Relational Practice (TIRP) Lead)

Over the last 18 years, after starting off in a career in law as a criminal solicitor, moving into teaching and children’s services Sam has seen the many sides of the differing systems designed to support people.

Sam started on her journey to become a restorative practitioner in 2016, enthused by its roots in giving people a voice and inclusivity, she has gained an understanding, and love, for its principles and values.

In 2019, Sam decided to engage in a master's in psychology which led her down the road of understanding adversity and trauma, the understanding of all of these elements has allowed Sam to see many perspectives and how they all fit together. Her research and experiences of working in systems that do not work for those that they are trying to help, has led Sam down a path of being passionate about delivering a message of being kind and curious regardless of what we know of someone’s story.

Sam is currently working with a whole host of practitioners and strategic partners to develop a Trauma Informed Relational Culture for the county and beyond.

Kate Simpson (Operational Manager Restorative Practice Team GCC)

Kate has worked in Education for over 20 years, gaining experience in mainstream and Alternative Provision Settings.  She moved to Gloucestershire County Council in 2015, first in the field of Inclusion and more recently in the Restorative Practice Team.  Kate strives to take a relational approach in all aspects of her life and believes Trauma Informed Relational Practice in education will benefit all children, young people, and staff whatever their level of need and whatever their role.

Anna Gregory (Consultant Subject Matter Expert Restorative Practices - The Restorative Lab)

Anna is a co-founder and director of The Restorative Lab, supporting workplaces to be more relational and restorative. A dynamic trainer and facilitator, Anna has over 10 years on-the-ground experience of leading restorative culture change programmes in schools and Local Authority teams (SEND, Education and Educational Psychology).  As a PhD candidate at Nottingham University, Anna specialises in participatory action research involving children as co-researchers. She is also working on how a restorative approach might inform and challenge more traditional research practices.

Inger Brit Lowater (PhD Candidate and Subject Matter Expert)

Inger Brit has been part of the RP team in GCC since 2019 and is currently doing a PhD with University of Gloucestershire to evaluate the Leadership Training for Primary and Secondary School leaders. During COVID she developed a passion and interest for online learning, both through synchronous online sessions and asynchronous online courses. She has a PGCE in Secondary Education with a particular interest in school culture and lived experience in school for both staff and students. Previously she has worked with restorative justice in the criminal justice system and is a skilled facilitator who has extensive experience in facilitating restorative meetings including for sensitive and complex cases.