Put simply, Restorative Justice seeks to repair relationships. It does so by bringing about a sense of remorse and facilitating forgiveness. Originally created by a psychologist working with incarcerated people in the 1970’s, it is now practiced across various fields, including education.
The thinking behind this approach is that in giving people a chance to reflect on their actions, they will become more remorseful, understand the impact of their harmful behaviours and become more open to healthier relationships.
While Restorative Practices can be undertaken in a variety of forms, most often in the school context it involves the students directly involved in an incident, plus a trusted member of staff. Here at Christian Brothers’ this is most often the student’s Pastoral Coordinator, the AP Pastoral Care and/or their Counsellor.
Within this forum, both parties are encouraged and guided in sharing their concerns. The students are supported in considering the actions and the resulting harm, as well as the feelings of those involved and steps that may need to be taken to repair the relationship.
In the spirit of personal responsibility and forgiveness, the students express their understanding and acceptance of the agreed upon solutions and discuss ways in which the situation can be avoided in the future. Usually, considerable work is done prior in collaboration with their Counsellor and/or PC, to ensure that all students feel supported and ready to work together to achieve a positive outcome.
When responding to challenging behaviour, some examples of the questions used include:
What happened?
What were you thinking at the time?
What have you thought about since?
Who has been affected by what you have done?
In what way have they been affected?
What do you think you might need to do to make things right?
When helping someone who has been harmed by the actions of another, questions may include:
What did you think when you realised what had happened?
What impact has this incident had on you and others?
What has been the hardest thing for you?
What do you think needs to happen to make things right?
If you would like to learn more, please click on the link to watch a short clip about Restorative Practices:
Sometimes, by changing the questions we ask, we can change perspective, leading to greater understanding.
We are available should you have any questions or comments, or simply want to check in with us regarding your son.
Until next time….
Liz and Liza
School Counsellors
댓글