Restorative Justice
At Oxley College we understand that from time to time students will make mistakes. It is important that they learn from these mistakes are able to make informed choices in the future, and are able to move forward in a supportive and non-judgemental manner. Restorative Justice is a philosophy we use in our behaviour management system. It involves high levels of control (limit-setting, discipline) and support (encouragement, nurturing). Conflicts in human relationships will occur and the challenge is to have processes that enable the restoration of relationships that result in learning and personal growth for all concerned.
Parents and teachers have the opportunity to develop a positive school environment that enables students to learn from mistakes and still feel positive about themselves and others. To be effective all involved need to play an active role in restorative justice. This can be done in a number of ways but revolve around these principles:
- Foster awareness in the student of how others have been affected.
- Avoid scolding or lecturing.
- Involve the student actively, instead of simply handing out punishment which the student is expected to accept passively. In a restorative intervention the student is asked to speak. They need to listen to how others have been affected by their inappropriate behaviour. They help decide how to repair the harm and make a commitment to this. The student is held accountable.
- Accept ambiguity. Often fault is unclear and people can agree to accept the ambiguous situation.
- Separate the issue from the student.
- See every serious instance of wrongdoing and conflict as an opportunity for learning.
