Changing lives through Restorative Practice

By Robyn Hutchinson

Restorative Practice (RP) has its roots in many indigenous communities around the world, especially within the Maoris of New Zealand. Today, it is used around the world in various sectors, from criminal justice to business, community and schools.

RP provides a platform for cultural change. It is a way of life, a state of being. At one end of the spectrum, it works when the community is proactive in building relationships. At the other end, when conflict arises, it helps to restore human dignity and allows learning to take place. Applied in a school situation, for example, RP focuses on repairing the harm done to people and relationships rather than on punishing an offender. This is done through a “Family Youth Conference” or “Restorative Circle” as seen in the following example:

A year 5 child teams up with an older boy. They make a pact to shoplift from the local store and have a ball! When this comes to the notice of the school, it calls the family in. The boy is ashamed, scared and reluctant to say what happened. But he finally confesses. This is the beginning of a life-changing experience for him. He and his family agree to take part in a Family Youth Conference based on the RP concept in which victim and offender willingly face each other in the presence of others. The principal leads the session, which includes other students and relevant teachers (the store owner did not wish to attend). The hour-long discussion uses the RP framework of questions as follows:

What happened?
Who has been affected/ hurt?
What were you thinking about at the time? How are you feeling now?
What might you have done differently? What have you thought about since? 

The discussion, which brings the boy to tears, ends with a final question:

What do we need to do to make things right?

Several options are put on the table by the participants - visiting the store owner, a written apology, community service, time out, suspension. There is no resolution at this point. Over the following weeks, teachers and the principal continue their supportive relationship with the student and his family. A month later, the boy and his father meet the principal and tell how the family had visited the store owner and made good. There are hugs all around and the sense of a burden lifted. The boy goes on to be a caring student leader.

RP has a suite of practices and methods like this. It underpins quality learning as it focuses on developing, building and restoring relationships at all levels. It establishes a context for cultural change in schools by developing explicit understandings and methods, important in a society based on punitive models.

Establishing RP culture in schools

My journey with implementing RP in schools was undergirded by an understanding of Imaginal Education (image change). On enrolment or at any other opportunity in the school where I served, parents were briefed on this model to understand how the school operates.

Wachtel and McCold, 2001: in Strang & Braithwaite, 2001, provide a framework to help articulate this shift. The window of social control provides a useful point of reference when talking with schools about the need for this shift (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Social Control Window (Wachtel and McCold,2001) Adapted by Blood, 2003.
Whole School Community
	Individuals

Building a culture of practice in a school or any organization is a whole organization task, with a beginning but no end. It is subtle and explicit, direct and indirect, and philosophical and practical. Three words describe the cornerstones: transparency, trust and transformation. Along with them goes a culture of high expectation, socially and academically. It is not possible to have one without the other. Transformation is gentle pressure, relentlessly applied.

Role of leadership
Commitment by the school leadership team is critical to the implementation of RP. Restorative culture has to be built collaboratively within the school community in many small ways, valuing differences, and respecting and honouring all cultures.

One key is caring for space - creating imaginal, creative and experiential learning environments. The intentional use of design, images, decor and music provides a powerful context for relational learning and practice. When families and kids feel good about their space, they are more likely to feel good about themselves and to take responsibility for their learning and behaviour.

It is important to start from where people are and move at a comfortable pace when implementing any shift - in this case a restorative rather than a punitive approach. It begins with changing the language from punitive (rewards and punishment, naughty, bad) to restorative (responsibility, fair, consequences, “what will make it right again”, and “moving on”). Addressing concerns from staff as they arise and providing lots of support are critical factors.

In-house staff and parent training are important. It is also vital to get students involved in Circlework and Philosophy sessions, where RP and inquiry-based learning processes are integrated and practised. Clear links between quality inquiry-based learning and restorative practice are developed through peer mentoring and practice.

School community ownership
Understanding the implementation of RP and a relational approach to teaching is everyone’s responsibility. Helping people to see and experience the difference these can make to the self-esteem of the child or adult is critical.

Taking every opportunity to acquaint parents, teachers and students with the simple processes and modelling it for them, usually informally, contribute to school community ownership. It is important for everyone to see the value of building relationships. These take time, compared to the quick-fix but ineffective “punitive” approach. It is also important for all to understand how being able to point to success stories can make a difference.

           
Managing conflicts through RP
Continuing in-house training, mentoring, and modelling RP processes for others helps to embed the restorative relational learning culture. Showing how understanding the possible consequences of his or her action can have a more profound impact on the child than a suspension or punishment is also important. Always being calm and non-confrontational, and giving people time to calm down before talking is critical to maintaining relationships.

It is important to separate behaviour from the person, to check that the processes used are seen as fair by the students, and that all those concerned with an issue are seriously heard and respected.

There are several key outcomes:

• A happy, vibrant and resilient school community, where students are more likely to engage in respectful dialogue and real collaborative learning
• Self-esteem, respect, self-discipline and self-directed learning become the norm. Bullying, blaming and suspensions are reduced and staff are better able to deal with these situations.
• All round student achievement improves as children know they are safe and will get a fair hearing at all times.
• When people see the reduction in behaviour issues they take on board what works, and energy is put into the things that matter in a school community.
• Students growing up in a restorative culture and perhaps involved in a family conference circle rarely re-offend.
• When this shift in image takes hold, the school becomes the hub of its community.

Some helpful RP phrases and sites to Google:
restorative practice international; circlespeak.com.au; rpforschools.org.nz; Philosophy for schools

Robyn Hutchinson, who recently retired as a primary school principal, has worked with  Imaginal Education (ICA methods) philosophy and contextual framework, with a particular focus on building a culture of values, integrating Restorative Practice and Inquiry-based Learning (Philosophy for children) in disadvantaged schools in Asia and Australia for over 45 years.