RESTORATIVE APPROACHESINFORMATION SESSION FOR PARENTS

Law Primary School28th November 2018

Lynne Grant Education Support Officer ASNL-J Stewart Educational Psychologist

SESSION OUTLINE

Introduction

What are restorative approaches?

Why do we use them?

Restorative approaches – detail

Questions

WHAT IS A RESTORATIVE APPROACH?

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A Restorative Approach is an approach to offending and inappropriate behaviour which puts

repairing harm done

to relationships and people above the

need for assigning blame

and dispensing punishment

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The aim of restorative approaches is to

build community and to manage conflict

by building and maintaining

relationships and repairing the harm

caused in the action that caused harm.

Restorative practice

sees harm not so much as a violation of rules…..

but as a violation of relationships

We have to have rules…but they’re a means to an end

So what happens when rules are broken?

consequences that fix the harm and repair relationships

“Restorative Justice in the school setting views misconduct not as school-rule-breaking,

and therefore as a violation of the institution, but as a violation against people and

relationships in the school and wider community”

(Cameron and Thorsborne, 2001)

What does the research say?

“No significant

learning occurs

without a

significant

Relationship”.Dr. James Comer

EVIDENCE BASE Education Scotland – pilot project

DfE report

Bristol schools

Barnet schools

Hull

Lewisham

RJC schools briefing

US Attorney General’s Office

WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH SAY?Visible learning and the science of how we learn

Hattie and Yates 2013

1.Effective practitioners can empathise deeply with their children

2.Effective practitioners avoid negative escalations in the learning environment

3.Effective practitioners avoid coercion and maintain rich social relationships

4.Improved relationships have been proven to raise achievement, but this can be a deferred rather than an immediate effect – in short, they take time to build and impact

GETTING IT RIGHT FOR EVERY CHILD – IN PRACTICE

“If a child doesn’t know how to read, we teach.

If a child doesn’t know how to swim, we teach.

If a child doesn’t know how to multiply, we teach.

If a child doesn’t know how to drive, we teach.

If a child doesn’t know how to behave, we……..

…………teach?

………..punish?”

“Why can’t we finish the last sentence as

automatically as we do the others?”

Tom Herner (NASDE President, Counterpoint 1998, p.2)

The values and

skills that

underpin a

commitment to

building,

maintaining &

repairing

relationships

Mutual respect, empowerment,

collaboration, valuing others,

integrity, honesty, openness, trust,

tolerance, accountability

The values and

skills that

underpin a

commitment to

building,

maintaining &

repairing

relationships

Emotional articulacy,

empathy, open-mindedness,

active non-judgemental listening,

conflict management skills

Mutual respect, empowerment,

collaboration, valuing others,

integrity, honesty, openness, trust,

tolerance, accountability

The values and

skills that

underpin a

commitment to

building,

maintaining &

repairing

relationships

Building,nurturing

and repairing relationships

Emotional articulacy,

empathy,

open-mindedness,

active non-judgemental listening,

conflict management skills

Mutual respect, empowerment,

collaboration, valuing others, integrity,

honesty, openness, trust, tolerance,

accountability

ACTIVITY

What do you need when you’ve been harmed?

Please complete section A

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WHAT DO I NEED WHEN I’VE BEEN HARMED? Time to calm down

To be listened to empathetically

A chance to talk

A chance to have my voice heard

A chance to ask “why me? What did I do to deserve that?”

To have the other person understand how I feel and acknowledge the impact their behaviour has had on me

A sincere, spontaneous apology

If possible, things put right

Reassurance that it won’t happen again

To be respected

To show emotion

Support and positive reinforcement

To be able to problem solve

To draw a line underneath it

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A

If you’ve been on the

receiving end of harm, what

do you need to make things

better?

B

When you have said or done

something that has caused

harm, what do you need to

make things better?

ACTIVITY

What do you need when you’ve harmed someone else?

Please complete Section B

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WHAT DO I NEED WHEN I’VE HARMED SOMEONE ELSE?

A chance to explain and apologise

Time to put things right

To feel better about it

To be forgiven

To get back on friendly terms

Time to think

To be listened to

A chance to explain to myself and the other person why I did it

An opportunity to apologise

A chance to make amends

Reassurance that the matter is dealt with

Hope that there is no resentment left

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B

• time to think

• to be listened to

• a chance to explain to myself and the other person why I did it

• an opportunity to apologise

• a chance to make amends

• reassurance that the matter is dealt with and I can move on

• hope that there is no resentment left

What do people need?

A

• time to calm down

• to be listened to

• a chance to ask “Why me? What did I do to deserve that?”

• the person concerned to acknowledge the impact their behaviour has had on me

• a sincere, spontaneous apology

• if possible, thing put right

• reassurance that it won’t happen again

RESTORATIVE APPROACHES

The challenge: to address conflicts and harmful situations in a way that, at the very least, does not harm relationships, and at best, builds and repairs them.

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PARADIGM SHIFT

Traditional

Rule-breaking

Blame or guilt

Adversarial

Punish to deter

Impersonal

Victims ignored

Accountability = being punished

Restorative

Wrong doing or harm

Problem-solving

Dialogue and negotiation

Restitution/reparation

Interpersonal

Empowerment

Accountability = put things right

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SOCIAL CONTROL WINDOW

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CLASSROOM/SCHOOL CULTURE

Power StrugglesConfrontationAuthoritarian

Win-LoseRetribution

Stigmatising

ConsistentResponsive

FlexibleAccountableResponsibleCooperationNegotiation

UncaringTiredLazy

Burnt outGiven up

ChaoticInconsistentExcusingGiving in

Blurred boundariesRescuing

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T

O

WITH

NOT FOR

THE RESTORATIVE SCHOOL

Develops a sense of fairness and respect

Provides safe environments/

opportunities to discuss problems

Engages participants with

dignity and respect

Involves participants in generating

thinking/feeling responses

Develops emotional intelligence/

empathetic listening

Leads to shared understanding

Promotes learning and acceptance of

responsibility

Encourages appropriate

behavioural change

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BUILDING BLOCKS TO RESTORATIVE APPROACHES

Processes

Skills

Values/Attitudes

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RESTORATIVE VALUES Strong, mutually respectful relationships and a cohesive community – foundation for good learning and teaching

Children’s rights are paramount

Children should be involved in decisions

Children prefer to belong rather than to feel isolated or rejected

Children change – and their behaviour can change (growth mindset)

The way I work with and relate to a child can influence his/her feelings, thoughts and actions (attunement and attachment)

Mistakes are an important learning tool

All pupils should be viewed with positive regard – it’s the person that counts not the behaviour

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SCHOOL TRAINING – STAFF AND PUPILS

Training of staff and pupils in restorative approaches – authority and nation-wide

Several training sessions

Ongoing support

RESTORATIVE SKILLSActive listening

Questioning

Reframing

Empathy – listening for feelings, behaviours, experiences

Solution-focused – not looking for blame

Being firm but fair

Reflection 31

ACTIVE AND EMPATHIC LISTENING

Involves…

‘Tell me more’

Acknowledging feeling

Minimal prompts

Respectful curiosity

Clarifying what the speaker feels/needs

Checking assumptions

Providing accurate feedback

Does not involve …

Judgements and put downs

Shoulds, oughts, musts

Interrogation

Trivialisation

Sarcasm

Blame and accusation

‘You think you’ve got it bad…’

‘Look at me!’

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ACTIVE LISTENING SKILLS Attending Using ‘listening’ body language

Acknowledging ‘I understand’, ‘I see’, nodding, etc.

Silences Gives them space to think, feel, and express.

Checking ‘I’m not sure I understand. Can you explain…?’

Reflecting ‘It sounds like you’re frustrated about…’

Summarising ‘So, what you’re saying is…. Is that right?’

Affirmation ‘Thank you for speaking with me about this.’

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Q U E S T I O NS

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Open Normally start with ‘What’, ‘How’ and ‘When’

Exploratory Could you say a bit more about . . .?

Specific When you say that John upset you, what did he do?

Feelings How do you feel about that?

Helpful Questions

Common Pit-falls

Only asking closed questions.

Asking two or more questions at the same time.

Interrupting their answer with another question.

Asking too many questions, i.e. interrogating.

REFRAMING – A KEY SKILL

Reframing statements is a key skill in all ‘listening’ approaches.

It includes ‘summarising’ and so helps a young person reflect upon what he / she really means.

Crucially, it also is about ‘moving on’ towards resolution.

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BUILDING BLOCKS TO RESTORATIVE APPROACHES

Processes

Skills

Values/Attitudes

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RESTORATIVE APPROACH IN SCHOOLS

So how does it work?

What happens?

RESTORATIVE ENQUIRY QUESTIONS

Key questions

Pers

on

resp

on

sible

1. What happened? (….and then what happened?)

2. What were you thinking at the time?

3. How do you feel about what’s happened?

4. Who else has been affected by this? How have they been affected?

5. What do you need from this meeting to make things better/improve

the situation/to help you to move on?

Pers

on

harm

ed

1. What happened? (….and then what happened?)

2. What were you thinking at the time?

3. How do you feel about what’s happened?

4. Who else has been affected by this? How have they been affected?

5. What do you need from this meeting to make things better/improve

the situation/to help you to move on?

VIDEO CLIP

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Restorative+approaches+video&adlt=strict&view=detail&mid=539E9578B3458C1B51C5539E9578B3458C1B51C5&&FORM=VRDGAR

A WHOLE SCHOOL RESTORATIVE APPROACH CAN CONTRIBUTE TO:

Happier and safer schools

Mutually respectful relationships

More effective teaching and learning

Reducing exclusion

Raising attendance

A WHOLE SCHOOL RESTORATIVE APPROACH CAN CONTRIBUTE TO:

Emotional Literacy

Addressing bullying behaviours

Reducing staff turnover and burnout

Raising morale and self-esteem

Culture of inclusion and belonging

BENEFITS OF RA

Equally engages all people involved

Focuses on repairing the harm and relationships

Offers restoration and possibility of ‘closure’

De-escalates affect and shame

Gives a sense of relief; allows ability to move on

Offers chance to reflect on future behaviours

WHAT CAN YOU DO AS PARENTS?

Law PS leaflet

Be curious

Become familiar with the language

Ask your kids about it

Try it out at home

WHAT YOU CAN DO:Listen carefully to what your child has to say

Use the 5 restorative questions

Acknowledge your child’s thoughts and feelings

Accept that others may see things in a different way

Be willing to listen to different points of view

Allow those involved to take responsibility for what they have done

Accept that those directly involved should decide what needs to happen to repair the harm

THANK YOU

QUESTIONS?

REFERENCES – 11. https://restorativejustice.org.uk/restorative-practice-schools

2. Scottish Government:

Restorative Practices in Three Scottish Councils: Final Report of the Evaluation of the First Two Years of the Pilot Projects 2004-2006 (2008) http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2007/08/24093135/0

3. DfE study: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/182421/DFE-RR098.pdf

4. Bristol study: https://restorativejustice.org.uk/sites/default/files/resources/files/Bristol%20RAiS%20key%20findings.pdf

5. Hattie, J. (2009). Visible Learning: a synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. London: Routledge

6. Barnet schools study: https://restorativejustice.org.uk/sites/default/files/resources/files/Restorative%20Approaches%20in%20Primary%20Schools%20An%20Evaluation%20of%20the%20Project%20Co-ordinated%20by%20the%20Barnet%20Youth%20Offending%20Service.pdf

REFERENCES – 2

1 National Evaluation of the Restorative Justice in Schools Programme (2005) YJB http://www.yjb.gov.uk/Publications/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=207

2 Restorative Approaches in Primary Schools (2008) Barnet Youth Offending Service www.transformingconflict.org/Barnet%20007098_RA%20Evaluation%20A4%20Booklet%20final%20version%20(2).pdf

3 An Evaluation of Bristol Restorative Approaches in Schools (2009) ICPR, Kings College London. Key findings - http://www.restorativesolutions.org.uk/images/RAiS_KeyFindings_Updated

4 City of Hull Riverside Project (2008) Hull Centre for Restorative Practices and International Institute for Restorative Practices. Summary -http://www.restorativejustice.org.uk/Resources/Research/Schools/Hull%20Impact%20of%20RP.pdf

REFERENCES – 3

Cameron, L., and M. Thorsborne. 2001. Restorative justice and school discipline; mutually exclusive? In Restorative justice and civil society, ed. H. Strang and J. Braithwaite, 180–95. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Kelly, V.C. & Thorsborne, M. (eds) (2014). The Psychology of Emotion in Restorative Practice: how affect script psychology explains how and why restorative practice works. London: Jessica Kingsley

Thorsborne, M. & Blood, P. (2013). Implementing Restorative Practices in Schools: a practical guide to transforming school communities. London: Jessica Kingsley

Hansberry, B. (2016). A Practical Introduction to Restorative Practice in Schools: theory, skills and guidance. London: Jessica Kingsley

REFERENCES – 4

Comer, James P. 2005. “Child and Adolescent Development: The Critical Missing Focus in School Reform.” Phi Delta Kappan. 86:10 (June 2005): 757-763.

Gallagher, Emily. 2013. "The Effects of Teacher-Student Relationships: Social and Academic Outcomes of Low-Income Middle and High School Students" Applied Psychology Opus. Fall issue. Accessed July 2, 2015.

Reynolds Lewis, Katherine. 2015. "Everything You Think You Know about Disciplining Kids Is Wrong." Mother Jones. The Foundation for National Progress, n.d. Web. 09 July 2015.

Rimm-Kaufman, S., & Sandilos, L. (n.d.). Improving Students' Relationships with Teachers to Provide Essential Supports for Learning. Retrieved July 3, 2015.