Professional Readings

Implementing Restorative Practices in Schools
By Margaret Thorsborne and Peta Blood

RESTORATIVE PRACTICE KETE
Restorative Practise Kete - Book 2 - Restorative Essentials
Restorative Practise Kete - Book 3 - Restorative circles
Restorative Practise Kete - Book 4 - Restorative Conferences

  • What is Restorative Practice?
A number of schools throughout New Zealand are introducing practices that can be described as restorative because they are consistent with a set of values recognised as underpinning restorative justice theory and practice. Importantly these practices aim to change the whole school culture – not simply aspects of that culture – by building such values into the school’s foundational ideology as well as its daily practice creating a ‘climate of care’. By this we mean a school environment based on core restorative principles of inclusion, the repair of harm, and reintegration, reinforced by strong support networks.

All of the schools in the study have adopted restorative conferences as a strategy for dealing with relatively serious problems but all have also adopted other restorative methods to deal with minor matters. Restorative conferences are a way of responding to serious problems by bringing together all those who are involved to find a way of acknowledging wrongdoing, attempting to repair any harm that was done and finding a way of reintegrating the wrongdoer back into the school community. The use of restorative conferences in schools is modelled on the use of the family group conference in youth justice and the restorative justice conference for adults.

'This book is the natural successor to the first generation of books that set the scene by explaining what restorative practice looks like in a school setting. This book addresses the challenge many educators face after the initial excitement of their first restorative skills training course -- how to spread the insights and the practice across their school community? Drawing on their wealth of experience, Marg Thorsborne and Peta Blood explain what the pitfalls are likely to be, and how to overcome them. They bring insights from the field of change management which are invaluable, and they offer case studies from schools all over the world to give weight to their message.

  • What is the impact on you personally  as a leader?
Teaching young people and staff (and indeed parents/carers) to forgive each other and resolve problems is one of the most important jobs a school can do. Emotional intelligence is not an old-fashioned idea -- it is essential for well-being, and we need to make our students resilient and help them form healthy relationships.

This book is a practical guide to changing the ethos or climate of a school and getting people to think about and change their behaviour. It gets us away from blame and negative attitudes, showing us a positive way forward.

For me as a leader of a team, the readings have made me question how my team is implementing the restorative practices approach and how consistent they are at using the restorative language.  

It has also particularly made me think about my role in facilitating this learning with my new PRT who has already identified that behaviour management and classroom cohesion is an area of need and a goal for her this term.  How will I help her start to become a teacher who is restorative?  What skills do i need to provide her with?  What tools does she need to provided with so she can hit the ground running?

The readings have made me reflect on the language I use in the classroom - could I be more restorative - I still find myself slipping into old phrases.  I like how the table shows how the questions used related back to different virtues.



  • What can we implement as a school? - Ideas I formulated after reading this text and others:

How restorative am I quiz - refocus our staff

Involving our senior students (most definitely the student councillors) in training so they can support with helping running a restorative circle for ‘minor’ incidents.
See below from Restorative Practise Kete - Book 1:

Table 6.PNG

creating a vision for our schools future - what would we like our school to look like in 2 years time, 5 years time in terms of restorative practices?  What do we need to do in order to get there?

Involving our community more - do they understand our restorative journey?  Do they share our vision?

How do we ‘maintain the gain’? page 155
Using stakeholder feedback and achievement data
improve and widen leadership
maintain pressure on values and behaviours

Follow up after situations, particularly lunchtime incidents - do we do this well enough?  How could we do this better?


STA News - May 2015 - Issue 253

Building a Culture of Excellence


BOT - The role of the staff trustee:



Implementing Restorative Practices in Schools:  

A Practical Guide to Transforming School Communities


 Margaret Thorsborne and Peta Blood

 Restorative practice is a proven approach to discipline in schools that favours relationships over retribution, and has been shown to improve behaviour and enhance teaching and learning outcomes. However, in order for it to work, restorative practice needs a relational school culture. Implementing Restorative Practice in Schools explains what has to happen in a school in order for it to become truly restorative. 

 Section 1 explains the potential of restorative practice in schools, describing the positive outcomes for students and teachers. It also outlines the measures that need to be in place in order to embed restorative practice. 

 Section 2 examines the process of understanding and managing change, providing realistic and pragmatic guidance on the practical and emotional barriers that may be encountered. 

 Finally, Section 3 provides in eight practical steps, strategic guidance for achieving a restorative culture that sticks. Featuring useful pro formas and templates, this book will be an indispensable guide for educators, administrators and school leaders in mainstream and specialist settings.

 Notes from reading this text:


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Te Reo Maori in Classrooms Current Policy, Future Practice


Georgina Steward

Key notes from the article:


  • The great majority of Māori children develop their learning identities in English-medium primary classrooms. Encountering te reo Māori in the classroom helps Māori children feel they and their culture “belong” there. 
  • Policy for te reo Māori programmes in all classrooms, Māori-medium and English-medium, is set out in the document Tau Mai Te Reo. This signals a new unified approach, bringing all Māori-medium and English-medium schools under one language policy. 
  • It is important for schools to interrogate common myths about te reo Māori being an “inferior” language, and other associated outdated ideas. 
  • In the classroom, five main types of resources can best be used in combination for mutual support. People are the most valuable form of resource for te reo Māori in the classroom, but possibilities vary according to local conditions. 
  • All teachers can and should undertake to increase the amount and quality of te reo Māori in their classroom programme. A supportive classroom language policy and a teacher role as “learning facilitator” rather than “classroom expert” are ways to support positive change. 
  • Te reo Māori is a beautiful indigenous language that enhances any child’s learning, and deserves the active support of all classroom teachers.
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