Restorative Practice at Northfields
Link to Restorative Practice Policy
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.
At Northfield St Nicholas we use a restorative approach based on the four Rs:
– RESPECT: for everyone by listening to other opinions and learning to value them.
– RESPONSIBILITY: taking responsibility for your own actions.
– REPAIR: developing the skills within our school community so that its individual members have the necessary skills to identify solutions that repair harm and ensure behaviours are not repeated.
– RE-INTEGRATION: working through a structured, supportive process that aims to solve the problem and allows young people to remain in mainstream education.
Not only do we support restorative conversations when a conflict occurs, at NSN we take an active approach to preventing conflict in the first place. Here’s how…..
How we do it here…..
Check-ins
At NSN we check-in three times a day. Once in the morning, once after lunch and then check-out at the end of the day. Everyone says a number from 1-10 depending on how they are feeling. This helps the adults in school gauge the children’s emotions and put support in place if needed.
Why?
- Supports safeguarding
- Identifies worries
- Builds trust between adults and piers
- Grows healthy friendships
Talk-it-out Triangles
Complimenting the check-ins, Talk it Out Triangles support both emotions and learning. The children have continuous opportunities throughout the day to communicate how they are feeling to others. Talk it Out Triangles supports the Learning Behaviours!
Learning Behaviours
Our learning behaviours help us focus on learning and achieving. Once a pupil completes their Learning Behaviour book they become a Learning Champion!
RP circles and conversations
Should a conflict happen, the people involved can take part in a restorative conversation with the guidance of a member of staff. All our staff are trained in RP and to use the 5 Restorative Questions to help repair the harm.
What happened?
What were you thinking at the time?
What were you feeling at the time?
Who has been affected?
What needs to happen to repair the harm?
- This is an opportunity for all parties to have a say in a calm environment. Everyone must listened to each other.
- We go through the restorative questions step by step. To acknowledge one’s own behaviour and how it affected the other person.
- The aim of the circle is to agree on a resolution moving forward that everyone is happy with.
- The facilitator will guide the conversation to ensure it stays calm and focused. Remember the 4 Rs!
If you have any questions about RP at NSN, please contact Mrs Howgate at [email protected]