What is Restorative Practices?
Relationship Based Principles
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Building/Sustaining Repairing Relationships
Trusting Relationships & Restoring Community
The roots of restorative practice is grounded in the traditions of Indigenous Cultures around the world that underscore the value of respect, compassion, dignity, accountability and inclusion of all members of the community.
This approach rests with the belief that everyone is an equal member of society and has a contribution to make.
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Restorative Practices is a system of principles and processes that build and sustain a culture of respect, responsibility and accountability.
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This is achieved through emphasizing the importance of trusting relationships as central to building community and repairing relationships when harm has occurred.
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When broadly and consistently practiced, restorative practices will promote and strengthen positive school culture and enhance the quality of relationships throughout the community.
It includes interventions when harm has occurred, as well as practices that help to prevent harm and conflict by building a sense of belonging, safety, and shared social responsibility throughout the school community.
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A Restorative Justice Lens
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Conflict or behavior challenges are viewed through the lens of restorative justice philosophy; one that brings all parties affected by an incident together in an inclusive process to discover the root cause and explore resulting impact/harms with the intention to repair relationships and restore the community.
This approach views behavior infractions as an offense against individuals and the larger community, and places greater emphasis on the harm/s caused and reparation of relationships/community above the need for assigning blame and dispensing punishment.
At the core, restorative practices are about
building and restoring relationships.