We are a Restorative school
The Restorative Approach:
We have high expectations of our pupils. We encourage all children to try their best to achieve their goals. They should understand that it is the responsibility of staff and pupils to uphold and maintain our school code.
For occasions when this is proving not to be the case, we use restorative approaches to help pupils understand the impact of their actions and how to put it right. We believe that by using this Restorative Approach we are giving pupils the skills to independently make better and more informed choices in the future.
Restorative approaches encourage pupils to think about how their behaviour affects others, both pupils and staff. It helps children to develop respect, responsibility, oracy and truth telling. If a pupil in our school has been negatively affected by someone’s behaviour, we will try our very best to make sure they feel that it has been put right for them and that it will not happen again.
If a relationship needs repairing, children will be asked to put things right, so it does not happen again. All children are supported in a constructive way to face up to consequences which will be put in place as a result of the behaviours which have taken place.
By using the Restorative Approach it allows ALL parties to have their say AND be listened to.
About Restorative Language
When our pupils find themselves in conflict or upset we will ask them:
What happened? (Story Telling)
What did you think? (Perspective)
How did you feel? (Personal Impact)
Who has been affected by this? (Wider Impact)
What needs to happen now? (Solution Focus)
Most situations can be dealt with by working through these questions. The aim here is that the outcome is fair for everyone. If somebody is upset, we aim to make them feel better. If someone has done something wrong, we expect them to take responsibility for their actions and fix the situation. Most situations can be dealt with fairly and promptly by using the above questions. If a child continues to misbehave, teachers refer to the school Relational Policy.
Restorative Practice in Gloucestershire
We are part of a much wider network of schools and agencies who are on their own journey, constantly improving their Restorative Practices. To support us with this we have the following resources at our disposal;