There are many ways that students at Parkhill are supported to work through any issues that arise, big or small.
As teachers, we know that social skills and conflict resolution must be taught just like any other area of learning. We use Restorative Justice to turn problems into teachable moments.
The Respectful Relationships program supports schools to promote and model respect, positive attitudes and behaviours. The resources have been developed by experts from Deakin University and the University of Melbourne to teach our children how to build healthy relationships, resilience and confidence.
The resources support a whole of school approach to creating equal and respectful attitudes, behaviours, structures and practices across the school culture and ethos. Respectful relationships covers areas including:
- Emotional Literacy
- Personal Strengths
- Positive Coping
- Problem solving
- Stress management
- Help seeking
- Gender and identity
- Positive gender relationships
We use Restorative Justice at Parkhill in times of conflict between students. Those involved are brought together, both the students harmed and those responsible for harm, into a safe and respectful space that is mediated by a teacher.
What takes place is a conversation where all involved have a voice and the focus is on repairing the harm caused. Through this conversation, emotional understanding is nurtured as relationships are rebuilt.
Instead of feeling anger and harbouring grudges, students feel a sense of empowerment as they help solve the problem and learn from their mistakes. This practice steers away from punitive and relationship-breaking consequences, and instead promotes empathy and social, emotional learning in the developing child.
We use Restorative Justice at Parkhill in times of conflict between students. Those involved are brought together, both the students harmed and those responsible for harm, into a safe and respectful space that is mediated by a teacher.
What takes place is a conversation where all involved have a voice and the focus is on repairing the harm caused. Through this conversation, emotional understanding is nurtured as relationships are rebuilt.
Instead of feeling anger and harbouring grudges, students feel a sense of empowerment as they help solve the problem and learn from their mistakes. This practice steers away from punitive and relationship-breaking consequences, and instead promotes empathy and social, emotional learning in the developing child.
If the children experience any difficulty at play time or lunchtime they can fill in a playground report. This report is then given to the teacher who can work with the child to solve the problem. Any problems are also recorded by teachers on Compass, so that all staff are aware of what is happening. All reports are collated by the class teachers and we use the data to ensure that supervision is in the right places, to identify repeat behaviours and put things in place to help reduce further problems. This information is also used to advise our SEL programs.
Restorative Justice Circle Time
1. Tell me one or two words that describe how you feel
2. If you could start over, what would you do differently?
3. How can we solve the problem together?
4. Does everyone accept the solution?