Our staff and students have been trained in Restorative Practice here at Stepaside ETSS, by the wonderful Michelle Stowe. We feel it aligns closely with the values and ethos of our school, allowing staff and students to build positive relationships built on trust, honesty and accountability. On her website ConnectRP Michelle says...
"Restorative Practice is a values-based philosophy; it aims to consciously build relationships, respond to harm/conflict in a way that honours relationships, and CONNECT us to our best selves and to one another. The values of this philosophy promote relational ways of being, it informs how we think, engage, speak, listen, and approach situations, all day, every day. There are a set of explicit observable practices that breathe life into the restorative values so that we are living values-in-action; the explicit language also facilitates and scaffolds this restorative way of being."
The intention is to develop a culture of care and respect that allows people to flourish and maximises engagement and productivity. The restorative mindset and practices encourage high expectations to be our own best self and offer the support and care we need to reach this potential.
Restorative Practice uses the restorative values as a compass; when dealing with conflict, it moves us away from blame and attack and instead ignites a path towards connection, solutions and empathy. A restorative approach cultivates active responsibilityand accountability over conformity. It also develops our capacity to regulate, recognise and communicate emotions. Emotional intelligence is the most overall success factor in careers. Ultimately it is about connection - to the self and to others.