Restorative Approaches at Ladybrook Primary School

We are a Restorative Approaches School.  Most members of staff, including those in Out of School Club, have been trained in the values of Restorative Approaches and how to use Restorative Meetings to support children with conflicts. Children in Years 5 and 6 volunteer to be RA ambassadors and have been trained in the RA systems. They work closely with the midday staff to ensure that play times are happy and incident free.

What is a Restorative Approach?

Restorative practice is a term used to describe a ‘way of being’, an underpinning ethos, which enables us to build and maintain healthy relationships, resolve difficulties and repair harm when relationships breakdown.

Restorative approaches are value-based and needs-led. It is an inclusive ethos that gives everyone within the school community the opportunity to build, repair and maintain relationships by building on values such as:

honesty, respect, individuality, equality, empathy, accountability and responsibility

These values can be seen as part of our broader ethos and culture that identifies strong, mutually respectful relationships and a cohesive community and the foundations on which good teaching and learning can flourish. In such a community, young people are given a lot of responsibility for decision-making on issues that affect their lives, their learning and their experiences of school.

How does it work?

The approach works through using a set of questions based upon Five Themes which allow children and adults to talk through a problem with a view to restoring relationships .This does not mean that sanctions are not used but it does allow children to learn from their mistakes and develop lifelong skills to prevent conflicts from reoccurring.  The approach originated in the Criminal Justice System to mediate between victims and offenders with huge success.  Now these skills are being taught in many schools with the same positive results.  

What impact do Restorative Approaches have in our school?

• A safer, more caring environment.
• A more effective teaching and learning environment.
• A greater commitment by everyone to taking the time to listen to one another.
• A reduction in bullying and other interpersonal peer conflicts.
• A greater awareness of the importance of connectedness to young people.
• The need to belong and feel valued by peers and significant adults.
• Greater emphasis on responses to inappropriate behaviour that seek to reconnect, and not further disconnect, young people.
• Reductions in fixed term and permanent exclusions.
• A greater confidence in the staff team to deal with challenging situations.
• An increased belief in the ability of young people to take responsibility for their choices, and more people giving them opportunities to do so.
  Restorative Approaches and Practices provide the foundation to build, maintain and repair relationships positively with the whole school community.