Restorative Practice

For effective teaching and learning to take place, we believe that good relationships need to be at the heart of everything that happens at Blenheim Primary School.

What is Restorative Practice?

A restorative school is one which takes a restorative approach to resolving conflict and preventing harm. Restorative approaches enable those who have been harmed to convey the impact of the harm to those responsible, and for those responsible to acknowledge this impact and take steps to put it right.

Who uses Restorative Practice?

Restorative Practice is routed in the restorative justice system which is used in many countries across the world. It is used in many schools and educational establishments but also in many workplaces and organisations, including Leeds City Council, which is a Restorative workplace.

What is the aim of Restorative Practice?

The aim of Restorative Practices is to develop community and to manage conflict and tensions by repairing harm and building relationships. This is our priority as a restorative school, as we see ourselves at the heart of and serving our community. It is a process that puts repairing harm done to relationships and people over and above assigning blame and dispensing punishment. It shifts the emphasis from managing behaviour to focussing on building, nurturing and repairing relationships.

Why are we using Restorative Practice at Blenheim?

We believe that our whole school ethos and vision along with Restorative Practice promotes and prioritises building and developing strong relationships and friendships. This makes everyone in school happier and more likely to achieve their potential. We know that a whole school restorative approach can contribute to:

Happier and safer schools
Mutually respectful relationships
More effective teaching and learning
Raised attendance
Addresses bullying behaviour
Raises morale and self-esteem
Helps promote a culture of inclusion and belonging
Increases emotional literacy

As part of the RP process, child and staff could be involved in meetings and circles that include:

The Five RP questions

What happened?
What were you thinking about at the time?
What have your thoughts been since?
Who else has been affected by what you did?
What do you think needs to happen to make things right?

If your child has been harmed by the actions of others, which could include both staff and students, questions could include:

What did you think when you realised what had happened?
What have your thoughts been since?
How has this affected you and others?
What has been the hardest thing for you?
What do you think needs to happen to make things right?

We have written our own versions of the above questions to make them appropriate for the ages and stages of our children. Whilst the questions have been edited to be language appropriate, the thought processes and general structure of the Restorative discussion remains the same.

Talking is key!

Restorative Practice is NOT just about the questions. It is about a process that is seen as fair: allows free expression of emotions and significantly is about offering high levels of support, whilst challenging inappropriate behaviour through high levels of control, encouraging acceptance of responsibility and the setting of clear boundaries.

Keeping Our Class Communities Strong

Every week each class has Restorative Practice circles. These are opportunities for the class community to come together and talk, share experiences, play games, offer advice and support to each other. These circles help the children in the class to learn more about their class mates and keeps the relationships tight. The stronger the bonds and the relationships the less likely you are to cause harm or upset someone.

Affective statements: The language we use to talk to each other

Affective statements are often described as personal expressions of feelings in response to others' behaviours. They help children connect with how their behaviour impacts themselves and others. Using affective statements helps us to encourage positive behaviour or discourage negative behaviour whilst improving or maintaining relationships. It is important to follow a feeling with a need and not a blame statement about other people.

Listed below are some examples of affective statements and questions which all staff and pupils can use with each other.

Statements

I am sorry that I misunderstood the situation...

I feel really proud of you when...

I feel really pleased and encouraged that you made the right choice.

I respect your honesty and thank you.

I was very disappointed when you did that to...

I am upset and angry by what has just happened.

I feel that (describe action) was very disrespectful.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this important information and we look forward to working with you on out journey to embedding restorative principles into our school community,