What is a Restorative Practice School?
A relational learning environment coupled with Restorative Practice is our school's primary approach to all behaviour. This relational and restorative orientation not only underpins but works in parallel with our code of behaviour.
Restorative practice seeks to build connections, understanding, empathy, listening and problem-solving skills to enable the whole school community to build relationships and to approach conflicts that may arise in a healthy, constructive and lasting manner.
Restorative Practice aims to make all parties affected by an issue active agents in finding a meaningful solution to it. Restorative practices are always voluntary in nature. By adopting RP it is our express intention to make our school as just and fair a place as possible for all our school community to learn and work in.
|
Our staff has received RP training and we will continue our professional development in this area over the coming years.
We have two CDI Restorative Practice Trainer of Trainers on staff and a vibrant RP committee that assists us on our RP journey as a school. Our Restorative toolkit: Relationship and connection building, Restorative Circles, Restorative Language, Restorative Meetings (and in extreme cases Restorative Conferences). Please see the two embedded Presentations below to learn more about RP in our school. |
|
The 3 e’s of Restorative Practice and fair process are:
Engage, Explain, Expectancy. Our RP values are: Respecting each other (respect) Being connected to each other (interconnection) Being fair to each other (fairness) Being responsible for our actions (personal accountability) Being honest with each other (honesty/integrity) Working well with each other (collaboration) Solving problems together (problem-solving) |
|
View our School 'RP' Presentations
Infant Classes - RP Presentation |
2nd to 6th Class - RP Presentation |
|
Why is the Giraffe used in Restorative Practice?
The Largest Heart: Giraffes have the largest heart of any land animal, . In RP, this symbolises compassion, empathy, and kindness. It represents "speaking from the heart" to build and repair relationships. The Longest Neck: Their height gives them a "sentinel" vantage point. For restorative work, this represents the ability to see all perspectives and rise above a conflict to understand the "bigger picture". Giraffe Language: Based on Marshall Rosenberg’s Non-Violent Communication (NVC), "Giraffe Talk" uses "I" statements to express feelings and needs objectively. |
|