Here at Gorey Educate Together Secondary School all our staff have been professionally trained in the use of Restorative Practice (RP). Restorative Practice aligns closely with the values and ethos of GETSS, allowing our staff and students to develop positive relationships built on mutual trust, honesty and accountability.
Restorative Practice is a values-based philosophy that 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.
The intention of RP 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.
The 6 key questions when using Restorative Practice:
- What happened?
- What were you thinking of at the time?
- What have you thought about it since?
- Who has been affected and in what way?
- How could things have been done differently?
- What do you think needs to happen next?