School

Standing Committee on Education, Training and Young People. Inquiry into Restorative Justice Principles in Youth Settings: The Management of Bullying, Harassment, and Violence in ACT Government Schools

This document from the Standing Committee on Education, Training, and Young People (part of the Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory) addresses bullying, harassment, and violence in schools under its jurisdiction. It explains how they work to counter those problems within the parameters of the National Safe Schools Framework and includes supplementary information on some of the programs present in schools.

Blood, Peta. Inquiry into Restorative Justice: Submission

Blood & Thorsborne (2005) and Morrison, Blood & Thorsborne (forthcoming) have significantly contributed to the implementation of restorative practices in schools and are presently challenging practitioners to think more broadly about the implications of introducing this concept to schools. It is simply not enough to take a model from the justice system and to overlay on schools or for that matter, in any setting. It is incumbent on those implementing and supporting the implementation that they understand that this is about cultural change. Working restoratively requires a shift from an authoritarian/ punitive way of dealing with inappropriate behaviour to the authoritative/relational. It also links to two other main bodies of effective school practice: the elements that lead to students feeling connected to their school (Blum et. al., 2002) and productive pedagogy or the art of teaching and learning (Lingard et al. 2003). Many schools in the ACT have commenced the implementation of restorative practices. However, sustainability and maintaining integrity of practice are high priorities, with implementation hinging on securing additional funding. Successful implementation takes three to five years and needs to be supported long term, otherwise the ACT risks schools implementing poorly, or seeing this as another tool in the toolbox. (excerpt)

Bowen, Helen. 2008. Restorative and Healing Justice in Aotearoa - a way forward for schools.

This paper is an attempt to encourage schools to examine their culture of conflict; and to seek out inspired leaders from school communities to develop principled models of restorative intervention.

Restorative justice?

from the post by Virago on KiwiBiker forum: This makes for some interesting reading: http://aranakenny.blogspot.co.nz/ It's worthwhile clicking through some of the links to get all the details, but in a nutshell: A Victoria University employee, doing caretaking and security work, steals a student's cellphone while working. Seven months later, the victim tracks the phone down using smart-phone technology, and hands the evidence to the police. The culprit is arrested and charged, and he admits the theft.

School takes no bully approach

from Sarah Collerton's article on ABC News: ....Some parents have accused schools of ignoring bullying problems, while others have looked for strategies to stamp out "modern" schoolyard violence. But Brisbane Catholic school Villanova College is using an alternative method to tackle its bullying problem. The school, for grade five to senior boys, implemented restorative practice (RP) in 2004, inspired by an Australian Story episode on a former policeman's restorative justice work. Villanova says it no longer uses the term "bully", instead preferring "wrongdoer", "offender" or "the guy who did the wrong thing". And it regularly holds Circle Time, which involves small groups of younger students talking about things that are worrying them. In more serious cases of bullying, there is the "powerful and emotionally gruelling" Community Conference, where parents, teachers and other key stakeholders intervene.

Standing Committee on Education, Training and Young People. Inquiry into Restorative Justice Principles in Youth Settings: Submission

Robyn Holder, Victims of Crime Co-Coordinator, offers her recommendations on the benefits of restorative justice, but also cautions against over-zealous implementation in educational settings.

Standing Committee on Education, Training and Young People. Inquiry into Restorative Justice Principles in Youth Settings: Submission

Jane Lomax-Smith, Minister for Education and Children's Services and Minister for Tourism, summarizes restorative justice practices in schools that have been implemented in South Australia.

Standing Committee on Education, Training and Young People. Inquiry into Restorative Justice Principles in Youth Settings: Submission

Anna Bligh, Minister for Education and Minister for the Arts, explicates some of the programs implemented in Queensland in educational settings.

Campbelltown Primary School's justice for all sees grades rise and behaviour improve

from Amy Noonan's article in Adelaide Now: Deputy principal Graeme Shugg said the effect of restorative practices at Campbelltown was immediate. "Teachers reported change within two weeks in their classes," he said. "We empower kids to question and take responsibility for what they've done and repair the harm and allow the victim to have a say. The bottom line is, the people involved in the problem are the best people to solve the problem." Suspensions dropped from 86 in 2003 to just 33 last year. In 2003, students were sent to the principal for discipline 683 times. Last year there were 76 referrals to the office.

Standing Committee on Education, Training and Young People. Beyond the ritual - “What if we can’t have a conference?

This submission will describe the implicit nature of much of the restorative justice discourse and place this within a context of the general impoverishment of much of the practice within the community services sector. It will then explore the progression towards explicit practice, its definition, the elements of Affective Practice and draw on a number of case studies which illustrate the opportunities created through the explicit sharing of the theories and practice with individuals, families, teachers and students. In conclusion it will address each of the terms of reference and provide some recommendations for the Committee. (excerpt)

Standing Committee on Education, Training and Young People. Inquiry into Restorative Justice Principles in Youth Settings: Youth Coalition of the ACT

The Youth Coalition of the ACT is the peak youth affairs body in the Australian Capital Territory and is responsible for representing the interests of people aged between 12 and 25 years of age and those who work with them. The Youth Coalition works to actively promote the well being and aspirations of young people in the ACT with particular respect to their political, cultural, economic and social development... For the purposes of this submission, the Youth Coalition consulted with a range of school personnel, including student welfare officers; alternative education providers; and youth and other community services. We also drew upon previous Youth Coalition consultations, including one involving young people affected by homelessness, and one involving young carers. (excerpt)

Buckeridge, Susan. Near Chaos to Near Calm.

Aldercourt P.S., Frankston North, is on a journey of improvement in student social wellbeing, self esteem and resilience. Changes in behaviour management practices have improved student connectedness to school which has led to improvements in learning. Restorative Practices have led these behavioural changes. Respect for one another and explicit rules and responsibilities have changed attitudes. An explicit Social Skills teaching program operates weekly. Literacy and numeracy are paramount. Aldercourt is committed to the improved learning of all students to achieve personal success. A playgroup connects parents to each other in a casual environment. Local groups assist in achieving our aim of connecting the community and providing the best possible school environment. Building relationships with each other, parents, local community, local businesses, local community associations and agencies like Ardoch and the Gould League enriches the school experience further. (This PowerPoint is from a workshop presentation about the Aldercourt P.S. experience).

Hamilton, Sandra and Davey, Glenn. Restorative Practices in Schools – A progress report.

This PowerPoint is from a workshop describing a systems approach to the implementation of restorative practices in the school setting. The workshop description was:"This workshop will briefly describe a systems approach to supporting the implementation of Restorative Practices in schools by the DEECD Loddon Mallee Region. It will feature the restorative practices journey of Kyneton Secondary College, a regional 7-12 college with a student population of 700 students. The Principal will provide a practical and honest account of the challenges and successes in the first 12 months of implementation."

Campaign on way to counter cyberbullies

from Anthony Loncaric's article in Brimbank Weekly: Parents living in the north-west are calling for more support to deal with cyberbullying as the state government prepares a new advertising campaign to encourage young people to speak up. Education Minister Martin Dixon said the campaign would be similar to the hard-hitting advertisements aimed at reducing the road toll.

Adams, Helen and Prestidge, Brian and McMenamin, Donald and Cronin-Lampe, Ron and Cronin-Lampe, Kathy and Jenner, Kerry and Macfarlane, Angus H and Winslade, John and Drewery, Wendy. Restorative Practices for Schools, A Resource: Human Development and Counselling Monograph 1

This booklet has been prepared for the use of a range of educational professionals who are interested in introducing restorative practices in their school. The materials were originally prepared for the use of schools for the purpose of reducing suspensions. (excerpt)

Editorial: Remarkable result

From The Press: On the face of it, a new approach by the St Thomas of Canterbury school to misbehaviour by students has been an extraordinary success. Since replacing its pastoral care behaviour management system with a restorative justice programme, the number of suspensions and expulsions the school has made have plummeted.

Restorative city push picks up pace

from the article by Anne-Marie Emerson in the Wanganui Chronicle: "The restorative city idea grew out of the very successful Whanganui Restorative Justice service operated by the same trustees for the last 12 years. That service allows restoration to occur by bringing offender, victim and their families together to address what has happened in a way that meets everyone's needs, especially the victim."

Shaw, Gary. Restorative practices in Australian schools: Changing relationships, changing culture.

The application of restorative justice principles and practices in schools is beginning to consolidate as an area of educational interest and reform. Although there is enthusiastic support for a philosophy that focuses on problem solving and repair of damaged relationships following an incident or crime, this support is tempered by hesitation about how restorative justice works, what impact it may have on current approaches, and how it is measured. This article presents the findings of a study conducted in eighteen Australian schools in 2004 and considers how such an approach may contribute to school culture change and to broader goals associated with producing a more civil society. (author's abstract)

Welden, Lynn M.. Restorative Practices in Australia’s Schools: Strong Relationships and Multi-School Summits Help Schools “Be and Learn” Together.

Two Australian educators are making an important difference in the emotional and academic vitality of the schools in their regions. Lyn Doppler has been principal of the award-winning Rozelle Public School in Sydney, New South Wales, since 2002. Lesley Oliver is manager of Student Inclusion and Wellbeing for the government of South Australia’s Department of Education and Children’s Services (DECS), representing the South West (SW) Metro District of Adelaide. Each has been recognized for her leadership role in embedding restorative practices in Australian schools. (excerpt)

Investigating the implementation of restorative justice practices through circle time

from the article at Student Wellbeing Action Partnership; This project was undertaken at a Catholic single sex school. The school has a strong emphasis on student wellbeing and is continually looking at ways to improve the various programs offered and strategies employed at the whole school through a preventative approach to student management. Using restorative justice as opposed to retributive justice has grown significantly in schools recently. The values that underpin restorative justice complement very well the underlying values of our school. The choice to focus on circle time was based on a personal interest fostered by research and something that was achievable within the context of the project. In my current leadership position I am also responsible for reviewing, developing and implementing student wellbeing policies so I found myself in the ideal position to develop and deliver a worthwhile project.