Restorative Practice

This year, we have started to implement Restorative Practice throughout school.

What is Restorative Practice?

Restorative Practice is a method to help deal with conflict and prevent harm. Often, problems are dealt with by giving a punishment. This can have the desired affect of preventing repetition of the problem. However repeated problems can often occur. Restorative approaches are designed to 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.

What difference will you notice?

We expect the investment we are making to use restorative approaches will have a direct effect on all children. This will enable children to be more vocal regarding problems. Children creating problems should be able to identify those who they have effected and children being 'harmed' able to speak out more. More emphasis will be put into children 'making things right' rather than being punished.

We are also asking children to think more about how they solve problems. Asking an adult to help is a useful option. However, a problem can often be solved using the image below. All children are asked to use the 6 steps.

Student 'experts'

Several children have received training at using restorative approaches to help their peers. They joined children from other local schools to receive training. In the Spring term, we are looking forward to them implementing their skills!

Can you use this at home?

YES! Many staff members have started using this with their own children to great effect. During the Autumn term we led our first parental course and received good feedback. The simplest way to start the approach is by removing one little word that we all use when their is a problem:

Why?

Instead, ask a simple question:

What happened?

This is less threatening and removes the idea that you have already found your child guilty before listening to the full story. Try it!

More information about behaviour at Cobden Primary School can be found here.