Parent Information
Developing Relationships
and
Positive Behaviour
through
Restorative Practices
Restorative Practice
- Is a way of viewing conflict and wrongdoing
that focuses on
- the harm this causes to people and
to relationships, and
- the obligation to repair that harm.
- Is an approach to behaviour management
and discipline that emphasises the importance
of relationships.
- Is a way for students to develop better understanding
of, and empathy with, others.
At Howick College our Aims are:
- To educate students towards self-directed
appropriate behaviour.
- To promote, nurture and protect healthy
relationships among members of the community.
- To make students accountable for the real
consequences of their wrongdoing.
We do this by:
- Having high expectations and insisting
upon high standards of behaviour, and
- Providing high levels of support and care
for individuals.
Our philosophy is one of inclusion and relationship
building, and restorative practices are built around
these values.
Our values are:
COURTESY
We treat each other with
respect and consideration
COMMITMENT
We pursue our goals with perseverance and
resilience
CITIZENSHIP
We participate in and contribute to school life
and take personal responsibility for our actions
Restorative Practices cover a range of
strategies including:
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The Restorative Chat
Restorative conversations are regarded as
the foundation of restorative practice and are
part of everyday school dialogue. Teachers
are encouraged to engage in restorative conversations
both as prevention and as an
early intervention for relatively low-level
classroom disruption. This approach models
respectful dialogue and includes the language
of restorative enquiry at the time of
disruption.
Examples of RP questions:
- What were you thinking?
- Who has been affected by what you
did?
- What do you need to do to fix this?
Mini Conference
Harmful events involving several students
and/or a teacher can be resolved very quickly
using the mini conference because it requires
very little time to prepare. It is used when the
incident is not serious enough to involve parents.
Class Conference
This approach may be applied where a whole
class is being affected by hostility or conflict,
causing learning to be impeded and relationships
to be damaged. A neutral facilitator,
teachers, support personnel and the students
meet in a circle and discuss the issues, explore
the harm and come up with solutions together.
Full Conference
This approach is also known as a community
conference, it involves the whole community
of people affected by an incident of serious
harm. These conferences involve parents
and or family members of victims and offenders.
They require careful preparation of
participants by a neutral facilitator.
Agreements are recorded and kept as part of
the school’s tracking system. A person responsible
for follow up is assigned.
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A Restorative approach ...
- Encourages students to appreciate the
consequences of their actions for others.
- Enables students to make amends
where their actions have harmed others.
- Requires students to be accountable for
their actions.
- Encourages respect for all concerned
The ‘Social Discipline Window’
It is the aim of the Restorative approach to be
operating in the top right pane of the window -
holding students to high standards of behavior
while at the same time providing the support and
encouragement necessary for them to meet these
expectations.
Restorative Practice works along side the School’s discipline
policy and sanctions will still be applied when this is
appropriate subject to any mitigating factors which may
apply.
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