The Woden School uses a range of restorative practices to build positive, caring relationships and values about trust, mutual respect and tolerance. It acknowledges human feelings, needs and rights and seeks to address offending behaviour by repairing harm done to relationships and people rather than assigning blame and/or punishment. All staff are trained to ask these questions:
- What happened?
- What were you thinking about at the time?
- Who has been harmed or affected? How?
- What needs to happen to repair the harm and make things right?
Anyone affected by harmful behaviour or a conflict situation has the opportunity to talk about what happened, explain how it has affected them, describe how they are feeling and identify what they want to have happen to repair the harm. All issues that cause harm to individuals and/or property in our school community will be addressed. These include:
- Disruptive behaviour
- Unsafe behaviour
- Physical abuse
- Verbal abuse
- All forms of harassment, including sexual and racial
A range of restorative practices may be used depending on the degree or seriousness of the harm. For example:
- problem-solving circles with class group
- corridor conferences
- mediation (repair the harm) sessions
- small group conferences
It is hoped that participants will to come to an agreement that states how, when and where the harm will be repaired and by whom. They will explore the extent to which people have been harmed and develop an agreement which lists ways to 'heal the harm' and 'make things right'. If those causing harm refuse to participate, members of the school's executive team will decide how to best proceed to achieve a fair resolution for all concerned.