WELCOME RESTORATIVE PRACTICE RESOURCE PROJECT TOOLS AND SUCCESSFUL PRACTICES FOR RESTORATIVE SCHOOLS SUPPORTING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT AND WELL BEING RESTORATIVE PRACTICE CONSORTIUM • ONTARIO CANADA 2017 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS WELCOME Prepared by: The Restorative Practice Consortium No group or organization can grow, contribute to their wider We hope you find our work useful in moving your individual, school or board contexts, and create without the supports that enable their work. Restorative Practice implementation forward in some way. It is with gratitude that we would like to acknowledge many of these, although a complete listing would be impossible. The materials contained in this resource are, to the best of our knowledge, free The Restorative Practice Consortium would first like to acknowledge and thank the Ministry of of copyright unless otherwise indicated. The materials are meant to be integrated Education of Ontario, Safe Schools Branch, for their ongoing support over the course of years in into your content and goals. If we have missed something in this regard, please terms of guidance and funding. let us know. A sincere thank you to all those who attended the 2013 Restorative Practices Symposium and whose We wish you well on your restorative journey. In these interesting times in which voices informed the foundation of this work. we live, the restorative work is more important than ever. A special thank you to the school boards and organizations who supported the work of this project though generous release opportunities to And, finally, please feel free to share this work with anyone else you feel might be further the reach of Restorative Practices in this able to benefit from it. province, and specifically: Algonquin Lakeshore Catholic DSB Durham DSB Durham Catholic DSB Hastings Prince Edward DSB Thank you, Jan Kielven Education Consulting Kawartha Pine Ridge DSB The Restorative Practice Limestone DSB Simcoe Muskoka Catholic DSB Consortium York Region DSB Youth Diversion Programme (Kingston) It is when we collaborate in a restorative way that worthwhile ideas can become realities. RESTORATIVE PRACTICE CONSORTIUM • ONTARIO CANADA 2017 WHO WE ARE The Restorative Practice Consortium is a collaborative of public and On November 30, 2015, the Ontario Ministry of Education Safe Schools Catholic Restorative Practice (RP) focused educators, who began meeting Branch approved and funded a project proposal “to gather, create, integrate to share best practices and challenges to support one another in RP and disseminate knowledge of restorative practice tools and strategies to implementation and development in schools. Original Consortium members support achievement, healthy relationships and leadership in Ontario schools were from across Ontario from Kingston to the GTA including: Kawartha Pine from a restorative perspective. This would be achieved through “cross-level Ridge DSB,Toronto DSB, Durham DSB, Hastings Prince Edward DSB, York and cross-board collaboration and research.” The project team for this digital Region DSB, Durham Catholic DSB, Limestone DSB, Algonquin Lakeshore ‘ live binder’ consists of Jan Kielven (York Region DSB retired), Judy Tetlow Catholic DSB; Peterborough Victoria Northumberland Catholic DSB, Simcoe (Limestone DSB), Mike O’Neill (Durham Catholic DSB), Steve Young (York Muskoka Catholic DSB, Peel DSB. In 2012, the Safe and Accepting Schools Region DSB), Jim Reilly (Algonquin Lakeshore Catholic DSB), Danielle Hunter Branch of Ontario’s Ministry of Education invited the Restorative Practices (Durham DSB), Saundra Reynolds (Simcoe Muskoka Catholic DSB), Peggy Consortium to propose ways to broaden their dialogue to other boards. This Hargrave (Simcoe Muskoka Catholic DSB), Shelley Steele (Hastings Prince challenge was taken up with the aim of conducting evidenced-based research Edward DSB), Stan Baker (Kawartha Pine Ridge DSB retired). with the following goals: • to investigate leading practices for successful implementation of restorative practices with fidelity (accurately, exactly, and faithfully); • to investigate barriers to implementing restorative practices with fidelity (accurately, exactly, and faithfully); and, • to disseminate the findings to support the effective implementation of restorative practicesthroughout the province. On May 2nd 2013, the Restorative Practice Symposium was held at Cobourg, Ontario and became a centrepiece of the data collection for the current project. The impetus for this gathering of participants: students, teachers, support staff and administrators from 14 school districts in the Southern Ontario Region, emerged from a goal to understand the leading restorative practices used in school districts across the region. All invited participants were known to have experience with restorative practices in school settings and were selected based on that expertise. The Symposium led to the publication of a Report on Practical Strategies for Implementation of Leading Restorative Practices in Ontario Schools, which is intended to be a practical guide for students, educational staff, and administrators. A copy of the report is in the appendices. RESTORATIVE PRACTICE CONSORTIUM • ONTARIO CANADA 2017 WHAT’S INSIDE Click on any volume or section below to take you directly to any information. You can also explore links and jumps throughout this guide wherever you see text underlined to take you to specific pages and sources to learn more! 1 2 3 WHAT IS RESTORATIVE TOOLS FOR RESTORATIVE MORE PRACTICE IN SCHOOLS? PRACTICE TOOLS • What the Literature Says • Communicating the • Implementation 9 Elements • Curriculum Applications • Assessment • Lessons & Integration • School Climate Survey Questions • Training RESTORATIVE PRACTICE CONSORTIUM • ONTARIO CANADA 2017 WHAT’S INSIDE CONTINUED 4 5 6 SUCCESSFUL MORE SUCCESSFUL REFERENCES PRACTICES PRACTICES AND RESOURCES • Restorative Questions • Peer Mediation and • Findings and Recommendations Restorative Practice Ontario 2014 • Restorative Classroom • Formal Restorative • Recommended Resources • Circles in Classroom Conferences • Annotated List of Restorative Resources • Evaluating the Impact of Restorative Practice RESTORATIVE PRACTICE CONSORTIUM • ONTARIO CANADA 2017 AN INTRODUCTION TO RESTORATIVE PRACTICE For centuries the restorative approach has been a preferred way of resolving conflict in community focused cultures. Indigenous cultures have always understood the importance of community for teaching, learning and growing together. Over the last several decades school communities began implementing Restorative Practices and approaches as an effective way of resolving conflict. We have been moving into an era where Restorative Practice is used preventatively as well as responsively to build relationships, enhance community and support open and honest communication. The responsive approach focuses on rebuilding and repairing relationships where needed. The preventative approach focuses on building relationships. Restorative Practice enhances student achievement and builds healthy school climates… “ A restorative approach in a school shifts the emphasis from managing behaviour to focusing on the building, nurturing and repairing of relationships. Schools need relationship management policies, which consider everyone’s needs and responsibilities towards each other, rather than behaviour management policies. Behaviour management policies tend to focus only on the behaviour of young people and the imposition of sanctions has the potential to harm the crucial adult/student relationships on which good teaching and learning depend.” – Belinda Hopkins RESTORATIVE PRINCIPLES COME FROM BOTH THE HEAD AND THE HEART. The restorative approach is based on transparent, open, honest, considerate and caring dialogue. The restorative approach focusses on making the effort to truly hear and understand one another in order to resolve problems by understanding events from others’ perceptions and experiences and taking everyone’s needs into account. If we truly ‘walk the talk’, work together, learn about one another, respect one Go to Table of another and appreciate other voices, we will learn what we have in common and Contents build on this to develop relationships and community. “ People are happier, more cooperative and productive and more likely to make positive changes when those in positions of authority do things with them rather than to them or for them.” – Ted Wachtel RESTORATIVE PRACTICE CONSORTIUM • ONTARIO CANADA 2017 THE ROOTS OF RESTORATIVE PRACTICE ...A THANK YOU TO THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES… 7 GRANDFATHER TEACHINGS Restorative Practices and Principles are not new. Their roots extend across multiple Indigenous peoples including the First Nations of North America, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The indigenous vision is a holistic one that is inclusive of both community and individuality. It is a way of being that respects and values all. During challenging times and times of conflict it is a practice that views harm and pain and even trauma as community issues, not just belonging to those immediately involved. Teachings such as the Grandfather / Grandmother Teachings and the Medicine Wheels lay out expectations for internalized behaviours, and breaches are recognized to involve all relationships, and so, needed to be dealt with by all affected. Indigenous teachings go even further; they acknowledge the responsibility and reciprocity with all aspects of nature and mother earth and demonstrate respect, appreciation and gratefulness for all