Restorative Practices: Building Stronger Relationships
Restorative Practices/ Approaches are on the less structured end of the Restorative Spectrum whereas Restorative Justice is quite structured and formal. In Restorative Justice we are working to repair a harm that has happened. Restorative Practices (RP) help us prevent the harm from ever happening in the first place.
With Restorative Practices we are using an approach to others that is focused on people and relationships so we can nurture strong, healthy and vibrant connections between our families, peers and community.
With Restorative Practices we are using an approach to others that is focused on people and relationships so we can nurture strong, healthy and vibrant connections between our families, peers and community.
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We can build our capacity to listen from the heart, without judgement and foster more connected relationships by using a variety of Restorative Practices, including learning how to use restorative circles in many different ways and situations. Some important Restorative Practice skills are:
Restorative Practice increase the mental, emotional and physical health of everyone who uses them. We build our resilience, our emotional literacy and regulation skills. We become more empathetic and feel valued in really important ways. Communities that embrace RP have lower crime, lower addiction rates, lower rates of mental health struggles, fewer suicides and a lot more civic engagement. |
From Joe Brummer & Margaret Thorsborne, Building a Trauma-Informed Restorative School: Skills and Approaches for Improving Culture and Behavior, Jessica Kingsley Publishers (Philadelphia, PA), 2020.
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The Approach
1. Affective StatementsComments about how other people were impacted by an individuals behaviour.
3. CirclesA vehicle for restorative dialogue allowing everyone to listen and be heard.
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2 . Restorative DialogueProviding everyone the opportunity to tell their story with the use of restorative questions.
4. Restorative Conference/ForumA formal, structured gathering to give everyone a chance to voice their opinion.
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