‘The restorative approach is based on transparent, open, honest, considerate and caring dialogue…on making the effort to truly hear and understand one another in order to resolve problems by understanding events from others’ perceptions and experiences and taking everyone’s needs into account. If we truly ‘walk the talk’, work together, learn about one another, respect one another and appreciate other voices, we will learn what we have in common and build on this to develop relationships and community’ (The Restorative Practice Consortium, 2017).
As a values-based organisation, when there are problems in relationships or when expectations are not met at MBC, we use Restorative Practice to find solutions. This is not new in our community, as restorative practice has been embedded in our Positive Behaviours Policy and Procedure for several years. However, as staff and students continue to develop their understanding and skills in this approach to building and maintaining relationships, we are keen to share our insights with parents and guardians.
Restorative practice is a way of thinking and being that cultivates community, while supporting wellbeing and achievement. By providing a framework to maintain community when challenges and conflict arise and to restore trust and relationships if needed, it fosters the conditions that promote healthy relationships, belonging, learning and empathy.
To feel valued, connected and included within a social environment, healthy relationships need to be built and maintained between students, parents, staff, and other stakeholders in the school community. Restorative practice encompasses a continuum of approaches that range from less formal to more formal. Restorative conversations are informal, impromptu discussions that seek to address concerns using restorative questions. In contrast, restorative conferences bring together those who have been impacted by an incident and use a structured process based on restorative questions, to determine what is needed to make things right. Regardless of the degree of formality, all restorative approaches support wellbeing and connectedness to school by building, strengthening, repairing, and restoring relationships.
There is a substantial body of evidence showing that students who feel connected to school perform better academically. Restorative Practice contributes to the development of a sense of belonging because it works on the premise that all are included, valued, and respected. By promoting the fair, inclusive treatment of all people, while recognising individual differences, equity is supported. Restorative approaches seek to create connections between individuals, build and maintain relationships and restore relationships when harm has occurred. Additionally, Restorative Practice considers the individual’s need to belong, and the relationship between the individual and the group. To reap the benefits of a restorative approach – and for individuals and a community to achieve their best – this interdependence requires a commitment from all community members to keep learning about how to work together restoratively.
A restorative approach supports learning by fostering a healthy, safe, and caring environment that promotes well-being, including positive cognitive, emotional, social, and physical development. A restorative learning environment is learner-focused, with an emphasis on collaboration and community. Using a restorative approach when things go wrong helps those involved to learn from the experience and work toward restoring relationships. Such processes build competencies that foster social and emotional learning, such as self-management, self-awareness, responsible decision-making, relationship skills and social awareness. Importantly, empathy is yet another by-product of restorative work.
Empathy is “the ability to understand and relate to the feelings, situations and motives of others”. Restorative Practice encourages people to put themselves in the ‘shoes’ of others, and to consider the impact of words and actions on others. Empathy is developed by providing the structure and support for people to hear and experience the stories, needs, and perspectives of others and to differentiate from one’s own experience.
We are committed to ‘walking the talk’ and developing a restorative culture at MBC and this is evident in the annual professional development of staff; the embedding of Restorative Practice in the Positive Behaviours Policy and Procedure; and the inclusion of lessons in our Positive Minds Program which focus on relationships and resolving conflict restoratively. When difficulties arise in our community, we take a restorative approach. Depending on the situation, this can take the form of less formal restorative conversations or more formal restorative meetings or conferences which are led by a facilitator.
Restorative work is rigorous and challenging for all involved, but it is also transformative as participants gain an understanding of each other’s perspectives and reach an agreement about how to move forward positively.
References
The Restorative Practice Consortium. (2017). Restorative Practice Resource Project. Available from https://restorative.ca/wp-cont...
