"In a world where you can be anything, be kind." Caroline Flack
Michelle Morgan Training and Consultancy
About Us
We believe that humanising organisations - prioritising people above all else, is the single best decision an organisation can make to ensure its survival and growth in the modern world. Businesses who connect with people through engagement and transparency will do well financially, by doing good. Having a plan for difficult situations, planning for conflict and free expression of thoughts and emotion is crucial to successful people-focussed ways of working.
Our Unique Selling Point - we are a team of professionals with first hand experience of implementing restorative culture change in schools. This means, not only do we have teaching and school-based qualifications and backgrounds, we have insights, stories and practical experiences that give a richness and depth to the training that we offer. We also know how to teach and deliver learning that lasts!
We have been there, done it and are all still proudly wearing the T-shirts!
About Restorative Practice
Restorative theory can be adapted to all relationships. The content of our training sessions and the nature of restorative theory results in delivery of a highly personalised, bespoke programme which is able to be interpreted for any relationship be it employer/employee, parent/child and teacher/student. We are all firm believers that restorative approaches combined with high challenge and support lead to improved outcomes for all.
An essential part of the work we do involves teaching young people about themselves. Learning about the impact of our developing brains on behaviour; transforms behaviour. Talking connects our emotional non-verbal right brain with our logical verbal left brain and allows us to create an integrated brain capable of expressing need and solving problems. We have seen how empowering people to express themselves in this way has had a profoundly positive impact on their self-esteem and mental health. We think these skills are invaluable for all of us in every relationship.
We see behaviour differently. Challenging behaviour highlights a problem that needs to be solved and skills that need to be taught/learned.
About Michelle
As a qualified teacher, trainer and restorative conference facilitator working for 20+ years in the education sector, I gained extensive knowledge of restorative theory that had such a profound impact on all of my relationships I was inspired to share what I have learnt with others. The theory and knowledge gained during my teaching career taught me restorative strategies that I think everyone will find useful in both personal and professional relationships.
Having led on the implementation of restorative practice in an inner city Academy, initially as a Year Head and later as Whole School Lead, I have seen first hand the positive impact of restorative practice, on behaviour, attendance, attitudes to learning and families' engagement with school. To name just one of the headline improvements, we reduced FTE by 51% over a 2 year period. I was delighted to be invited back in recently to offer training and support with the Academy's next phase of restorative work. 13 years on, and still going strong!
In recent months, all of my work has moved online and much of it has been working directly with families who are really feeling the pressure of the Covid lockdowns. I have developed a 10-week online interactive course that was described by one participant as, "Life-changing." See the families tab for more information.
Julie Bedson - Business Manager
About Julie
Julie is the well-organised machine who makes sure everything runs smoothly and efficiently. She organises us on a day-to-day basis, supports with the technology in online meetings and ensures that communication with any potential client is fast and effective. She supports schools in writing their restorative behaviour policies and ensures that all of our internal processes are fair, restorative and people-centred.
With experience in Training & Development, Personal Assistance and most recently Education Administration; Julie has seen first-hand the impact of Restorative Practice training within schools and is delighted to support with the growth, direction and aims of Restorative Practice Training and Consultancy. As a parent Julie practices restorative approaches with her 3 gorgeous boys.
Alex Reeves - Associate (schools / evidence-based CPD)
About Alex
Since qualifying in 2003, Alex has worked in inner city Liverpool secondary schools. In her most recent post as a senior leader, she was responsible for ensuring the quality of provision for whole school CPD, T&L, MER processes, ITT/ECTs & new staff induction. She was also one of two lead facilitators in the delivery of the new NPQ for Leading Teacher Development qualification for CEFEL. She has experience of planning and delivering research driven CPD and training on the science of learning, curriculum design and how to plan effective CPD at a whole school level.
Alex is strongly of the view that high quality T&L when coupled with restorative approaches, can break the cycle of disadvantage that many students face. She believes that the curriculum should be transformative and a vehicle for inclusive practice. Her philosophy is that you get the best out of people when you couple high expectations with high levels of support – doing ‘with’ rather than ‘to’, whether this be staff or students.
Alex describes herself as a ‘proud educational moderate’ and believes that more balance and appreciation of different schools of thought within the education sector is important. She is of the opinion that progressive and traditional approaches to education are not exclusive, and instead can complement each other and work in harmony to improve the life chances of students. Her view is that positive change will be most impactful when we marry the science of learning approaches of how students learn, with research informed restorative approaches. She has first-hand experience of selling this vision to staff, increasing staff buy in and making a positive impact with this balanced approach to education.
Jude Marwa - Associate (teenagers and families)
About Jude
Jude is a qualified primary school teacher, yoga teacher and mindfulness coach who has taught in the state, private and international sector for over 20 years. Having always been most interested in the emotional wellbeing and development of her students Jude combines her knowledge and experience from working with children in the classroom with her understanding of how effective mindfulness is as a tool to improve focus, reduce stress and anxiety.
She has worked with teenagers and young people, helping them to develop coping skills and conflict management by training the brain to notice, pause and respond thoughtfully. Her work in early years has given her expertise in strategies for regulating and managing emotions. She has recently trained as a restorative practice consultant which complements her previous work and experience bringing all her passions together nicely!
Kate Allen - Associate (Schools / Business Development)
About Kate
Kate has spent 23 years as Head of History in an inner-city school in one of the most deprived areas of the country. Through that time she saw the GCSE results progress from 30% of students leaving with a Grade C in History to 95% of students gaining a Grade 4 in 2019. Kate credits this success to a whole-school approach to restorative practices that had a transformative effect on the school culture. She has seen first-hand how embedding RP alongside high expectations for every child, a challenging, knowledge-rich curriculum and clear consequences can improve outcomes, behaviour and student's emotional well-being.
As well as leading a department, Kate has been responsible for mentoring and delivering training to ECTs and has delivered whole-school training on diversity. She is passionate about inclusion in the curriculum and has created extra-curricular clubs and resources for LGBTQ+ students and Gypsy and Roma pupils. Inspired by stories told by her refugee pupils, Kate has organised several whole-school Refugee Awareness Weeks, for which she won the north-west Educate 'Wow!' Award in 2021.
Nicola Ousey - Associate (Children - Restorative Behaviour)
About Nicola
Nicola is an experienced teacher of English and Drama, having taught for over 25 years. During this time, she has worked in schools in some of the most disadvantaged areas of Dublin and Liverpool. Over the years, Nicola has built up a network of contacts, liaised with several local theatres, charities and youth organisations, in an effort to give young people a means of self-expression through drama and performance. She has been involved with the NOW Mental Health Festival every year since its inception, and has worked closely with Merseyside Youth Association to provide a platform for dozens of young people over the years to have their voices heard. “I have always championed the use of drama as a vehicle for expressing difficult emotions and as a tool for examining how our actions can impact others.”
Nicola has been an advocate of restorative practice for over 10 years, and has used the techniques to resolve conflicts both in and out of the classroom in her role as a subject leader and form tutor, as well as being a mother(chauffeur) of two teenagers. “I have seen first-hand how using a restorative approach can pay dividends when working with hard-to-reach young people, as it shifts focus away from the culture of blame, and instead requires those affected to examine their feelings and teaches them to be more self-aware and mindful of others."
One of Nicola's main diversions is music, and she can often be found on a weekend playing a lunchtime set in a café overlooking the Mersey. Unfortunately, this doesn't afford her a fraction of the street cred it should, as her children will attest.
Special Advisors
Why we need them
"No teacher is an island" we need to stay connected to those still working every day in the settings we are working with to keep up-to-date with how things are in practice as well as theory. Our team of special advisors are there to help when we need to know more.
Linda Parkes - Assistant Head and SENCO - Secondary Academy
Special advisor for SEND and inclusion
Stephanie Lonsdale - Deputy Head - Secondary Academy
Special advisor for personal development, social mobility and inclusion
Rachel Quine - Director
Special advisor for case work supervision and COSA for family work