Restorative approaches are increasingly being embraced by schools and teachers as an effective way to create positive, inclusive, and supportive learning environments. These approaches focus on building relationships, repairing harm, and fostering a sense of community. Here are several ways in which restorative approaches benefit teachers and schools:
- Promotes Positive Relationships
Restorative approaches prioritise relationship-building among students, teachers, and staff. Through structured practices such as restorative circles, everyone has an opportunity to voice concerns, share experiences, and develop empathy for one another. This fosters mutual respect and understanding, which leads to stronger relationships and healthier interactions between peers.
- Reduces conflict and challenging behaviour
By addressing the root causes of conflict and focusing on addressing unmet need, restorative approaches help to reduce challenging behaviour in the long term. Rather than focusing on punitive measures, restorative practices encourage accountability and understanding. Students are supported to take responsibility for their actions, understand how they have impacted others, and work toward making amends.
- Improves Classroom environment
Teachers can use restorative techniques to create a more peaceful and respectful classroom. When students feel heard and respected, they are more likely to engage in the learning process and less likely to disrupt it. Restorative approaches provide teachers with tools to prevent and pre-empt conflict, helping to maintain a positive classroom climate.
- Reduces Suspension and Exclusion Rates
Traditional disciplinary approaches, like suspensions and exclusions, often exacerbate problems by isolating students from the learning environment. Restorative practices offer alternatives to these measures, focusing instead on conflict resolution and repairing harm. This keeps students in school, reducing absenteeism and improving academic outcomes whilst also addressing behavioural issues.
- Cultivates social and emotional intelligence
Restorative approaches build emotional literacy by encouraging students to develop self-awareness, empathy, and communication skills. Students learn how to express their feelings, manage conflict, and resolve issues in constructive ways.
- Improves School Culture
A restorative approach shifts the traditional school culture to one which focuses on addressing unmet need, repairing harm, and problem-solving. It creates a more inclusive, equitable environment where students feel valued, respected, and understood. As a result, the overall school climate becomes more supportive, contributing to better academic and social outcomes for all students.
- Supports Teachers’ Well-Being
Restorative practices can help reduce teacher stress by fostering a more respectful and cooperative classroom environment. Teachers who follow restorative methods often find that they spend less time responding to challenging behaviour and more time on teaching and building meaningful relationships with students. This leads to greater job satisfaction and overall well-being.
- Fosters Long-Term Change
Restorative approaches are not quick fixes; they are designed to foster long-term change by addressing the underlying causes of conflicts and behaviour that disrupts learning. This creates a more sustainable and peaceful school environment where students can thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.
In summary, restorative approaches empower teachers and schools to build positive relationships, reduce conflicts, and support the emotional well-being of both students and staff. If you are looking to create a healthier, more engaged and inclusive school community and want to explore how restorative approaches could benefit your school, please get in touch —we’d love to talk to you!