Restorative Justice ..

Find out more about Restorative Justice across the following areas:

Restorative Justice Works

  • Independent expert analysis finds RJ would benefit society by over £1billion read more.

  • RJC/Victim Support proposal for victims of serious crime would save £185 million read more.

  • RJC summary of Ministry Justice research into restorative justice read more.

Restorative Justice in Action

Ray and Vi Donovan met the young man who murdered their son Christopher. Hear their story.

Case Studies
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Schools

Restorative practices are used in schools proactively to build relationships, promote discipline and prevent harm and  conflict occurring.

In schools generally...

  • school rules are often developed by adults rather than by the whole school community
  • breaking school rules is seen as an offence against the school not the person
  • pupils involved in disputes may not be required to take responsibility for their behaviour and given a chance to put things right
  • punishments do not address the underlying causes of misbehaviour nor repair the relationships between those affected by this behaviour

Restorative approaches and practices in schools, however, encourage the school community to:

  • accept conflict as part of life and see its potential for learning new skills
  • share the responsibility for creating and maintaining the conditions that make for effective teaching and learning
  • encourages everyone, young and old, to take responsibility for their feelings and behaviour
  • empowers young people, teachers and parents to handle conflict is positive ways
  • can repair a school community

Restorative approaches and practices in schools is part of a process that involves the commitment of the whole school - A Whole School Approach. This means that teachers, governors, staff and pupils all take part and work to provide teacher and pupil satisfaction, improved communication and co-operation and often increased academic progress.

Restorative approaches and practices in schools generally comprise of:

  • regular class and staff circles for community building and problem solving
  • whole school conflict resolution programmes
  • peer mediation for pupils and teachers
  • restorative language used by all adults
  • restorative meetings (mediation and conferencing) to resolve challenging issues

Evidence of impact:

The RJC supports the development of evidence-based practice to help practitioners and Headteachers to learn from the growing body of research from around the country.  Key findings from recent evaluations include:

  • Whole-school restorative approaches were given the highest rating of effectiveness at preventing bullying by a report published by the Department for Education, with a survey of schools showing 97% rated restorative aproaches as effective.
  • The 2002 - 2005 national evaluation of Restorative Justice in Schools enabled Headteachers to adopt the approach based on strong qualitative and quantitative research. Since this evaluation numerous Headteachers have chosen to implement its use in their schools.
  • In Barnet, sixteen primary schools were trained in restorative justice. A 2008 evaluation by the local authority compared these schools with non practising schools and found a reduction in exclusions of 51% in RJ trained schools; compared to a 65% increase in exclusions in the thirty two Barnet schools that have received no RJ training. They also found increased confidence among school staff to deal with bullying and conflicts in the school.
  • An independent evaluation of Restorative Justice in Bristol schools found that restorative justice improved school attendance and reduced exclusion rates. 
  •  In Hull, a two-year Restorative Justice pilot involved all professionals in Children’s Services in the Riverside area. Over 3,500 staff from the Children’s Workforce were trained, including staff from twelve primary and two secondary schools. Evaluation of the schools revealed 73% fewer classroom exclusions, 81% fewer fixed term exclusion days, a reduction in verbal abuse between pupils and verbal abuse towards staff of over 70%.

6th Jan 2011 | Schools | RJC

Further Reading about Restorative Justice