Restorative Practice is a way of being, not just a process to follow or a thing to do at certain times. A restorative ethos is a set of principles, behaviours and approaches which build and maintain healthy relationships and a sense of community and can resolve difficulties and repair harm where there has been conflict.  

Restorative practice offers schools an alternative way of addressing discipline and behavioural issues. It also provides school staff with a consistent framework for preventing and dealing with problems. 

But restorative practice should not be seen as a behavioural management tool and, if used as such in isolation, the true benefits are missed. 

We support schools with a continuum of practices that embed and support building a restorative ethos in schools. 

What are the benefits of a
restorative approach
in schools?

Experience and evidence at local and national levels has shown that restorative processes have a positive impact in changing school cultures, especially regarding attendance and behaviour, when embedded in a wider restorative context, and within clear school improvement strategies. 

A report published by the Department for Education gave whole-school restorative approaches the highest rating of effectiveness at preventing bullying, with a survey of schools showing 97% rated restorative approaches as effective. 

An independent evaluation of restorative justice in Bristol schools found that restorative justice improved school attendance and reduced exclusion rates. 

On a practical level, restorative approaches provide a structured and consistent response to the inevitable incidents of conflict that arise in the life of a school. The benefits of improved conflict resolution in schools lead to reduced disruption of teaching and learning, improved relationships and a calmer school environment.  

In addition to the conflict resolution benefits, restorative approaches have been shown to develop people’s social and emotional competencies, such as increased empathy, improved self-discipline and more responsible decision-making. These benefits contribute to pupils’ personal, social and moral development.  

Check ins help to build relationships with everyone in the class. They can be used to gauge feelings and to find out more about each other. In staff meetings they help adults to leave what they were doing before behind, so they can ‘arrive’ into the meeting ready to discuss the agenda. Check outs provide a moment of reflection. In this training you will experience both and leave with a host of ideas of how to make best use of them.

Modelling affective language provides a structure for expressing feelings, impacts, and emotions about specific behaviours and actions. The training will give you the chance to practice this and see its impact. 

From setting up the circle to working through games and activities to build relationships, this training enables staff to feel confident about facilitating proactive circles in their classrooms. It is experiential and participative. You will come away with renewed confidence as well as a host of activities to try.

It will provide participants with the background knowledge and skills that are required to use informal restorative practices in their day to day work. The course will introduce participants to the philosophy and language of restorative practices. It also engages participants in identifying how to apply this innovative and relational way of dealing with conflict into their daily work. The training day is experiential with a mix of theory, skills practice and small group work people have come to expect from Peacemakers. The training will cover a variety of restorative practices.

A Restorative Meeting

If something has gone wrong and it looks like people might like the opportunity to put things right and repair their relationships, then a facilitated restorative meeting could help. At a restorative meeting, all people involved in the incident are invited to come together, listen to the impact of the problem on all the parties and work together to come up with some solutions. This meeting is carried out by a trained restorative facilitator who makes sure that everyone gets heard equally. 

The difference between mediation and a restorative meeting is that mediation can be used where there is a conflict or dispute about a specific incident; whereas a restorative meeting is designed to address the impact of the harm on a relationship.  

Class Restorative Circle

A class restorative circle might be held to discuss something that’s happened at school or an event in the media. A restorative meeting might be held to talk through a difficult exclusion. This could involve parents and staff. In this process, everyone is respected, is treated equally and has the opportunity to speak without interruption. It is a chance for people to tell their own stories, to both speak and listen in a deeper, more heartfelt way. It is an opportunity for people to find their own solutions and repair harm.

We can support staff in school to run their own restorative circle or, if staff would like to be involved in the circle and have their views heard, we can facilitate for you.