Relentlessly restorative relationships: how we are working together with children and families

Mark Finnis is the founder and director of L30 Relational Systems and has more than twenty-five years’ experience of helping organisations large and small, both nationally and internationally to develop highly connected relational cultures with people at the heart of everything they do. 

Mark has also been involved in the national development of restorative practices since the late 1990s. 

He then became the UK Assistant Director for the International Institute for Restorative Practices.

He then moved to a new and exciting role as the Director of Training and Consultancy at Hull Centre for Restorative Practice in 2007 where he helped the city achieve its position as the world’s first Restorative City. 

Mark then worked with Leeds City Council Children’s Services for five years to develop Restorative practice as part of its vision of a Child-Friendly City. 

Mark has since gone on to work alongside over twenty Children Services around the country helping to improve outcome and impact for Children and Families.

Mark has also delivered keynotes alongside audiences across the UK, Spain, Finland, Canada, US to name a few.

Mark is the author of the number 1 bestselling book, Independent Thinking On Restorative Practice: Building relationships, improving behaviours and creating stronger communities.

In 2019 he received the Chris Donovan Trust’s Restorative Practice Champion award in recognition of his work nationally.
 
Mark has advised on national policy and practice development since 2005 and was part of a small group who rewrote the national best practice guidance for restorative practitioners in 2012.

Mark is a trained Family Group Conference Convenor and a licensed NLP Master Practitioner trained and certified under Dr Richard Bandler and has been working with leaders offering coaching for over a decade.

He is also a dad of five children, a proud scouser and loves his dog called Dexter.

Connect with via X @markfinnis and his website is L30Relationalsystems.co.uk

Dawn has been with Cafcass for more than a decade, starting as a Family Court Advisor and Children’s Guardian, before moving to a role with the National Improvement Service with specialist interests in learning and development and significant incident reviews. In 2022, Dawn was appointed as the Head of Practice with lead responsibility for learning and development. She has been involved in the development of the career pathway for social workers in Cafcass and furthered practice leadership within the organisation. Dawn became the Principal Social Worker in September 2024, combining her experience as a frontline practitioner who knows the challenges faced by colleagues with her understanding of the organisational focus on delivering an exceptional experience for every child, every time and everywhere. Prior to joining Cafcass, Dawn worked in local authority and charitable sector social work teams with children and young people.

 

Sharon qualified as a social worker in 1997 and she has been working in a variety of settings with children and families since 2001. Sharon a wealth of experience related to risk and safeguarding from her experience of working within the  criminal justice system. Sharon has been employed with Cafcass since 2020 as a Family Court Adviser and Children's Guardian.  Her work covers both public law and private law applications.  Sharon has a particular interest in Contextual Safeguarding and the links to the Deprivation of Liberties (DoLs). Sharon has recently secured the position of Consultant Family Court Adviser to support colleagues develop their practice.

John has worked as a social worker with children and families since 2011. John has worked in a variety of roles primarily within local authority settings including initial response; long term child protection and Public Law proceedings and has done so as a social worker; advanced practitioner and then as a team manager for a busy initial response team. John joined Cafcass as a Family Court Advisor and Children’s Guardian in June 2021 and is currently based within the South West; working predominantly in private law in Plymouth, Devon and Cornwall. Alongside his role as a Family Court Advisor and Children’s Guardian, John is also a Practice Educator and holds a key role within the South West in supporting the learning and development of new colleagues joining Cafcass; as well as supporting student social workers on placement with Cafcass. John’s specific areas of specialist practice include working with complex Leave to Remove (international relocation) private law cases; working with families where asylum and immigration are key elements; international social work and working with unaccompanied minors. In 2023, John was a Finalist in the National Children and Young People Awards, in the category of Safeguarding Children.