Description
Welcome to the Restore, Repair, and Prevent Toolkit
Restorative practices in schools have emerged as a powerful approach to promoting the well-being of children. These practices, centred around fostering empathy, communication, and conflict resolution, have a profound impact on students’ emotional and social development.
It forms part of the Bounce Framework – a social and emotional regulation approach.
It framework provides resources to help children understand and managing their thoughts, emotions, and behaviours.
It draws upon the metaphor of the brain being divided into three parts: the Wise, the Emotional, and the Library.
Here’s an overview of this framework:
- The Wise Part: This part of the brain represents the rational, logical, and conscious thinking. It’s responsible for higher-level cognitive functions, problem-solving, planning, and decision-making. The Wise Part/Owl is calm, controlled, and capable of reflecting on situations objectively.
- The Emotional Part: For the emotional part, we use visual image of the Chimp. This represents the emotional, instinctual, and impulsive part of the brain. It reacts quickly and emotionally to situations, often driven by deep-seated emotions and primitive survival instincts. The Chimp can be prone to irrational fears, negative thought patterns, anxiety, and impulsive behaviours.
- The Story Part: The Library is like the brain’s storage system, the story of our life. It holds and processes beliefs, memories, and automatic responses. It can be influenced by both the Wise and Emotional Part, absorbing their input and forming long-term beliefs and habits.
Evidenced-Based Research:
- “The impact of restorative justice practices on school climate and student behavior: A systematic review” (2021) by Leverentz, Muenzenmayer, and Conley. This study reviewed 13 studies that investigated the impact of restorative justice practices on school climate and student behavior. The results showed that restorative justice practices were effective in improving school climate and reducing student misbehavior.
- “The effectiveness of restorative practices in schools: A meta-analysis” (2020) by Bruene-Butler, Skiba, and Horner. This meta-analysis reviewed 30 studies that investigated the effectiveness of restorative practices in schools. The results showed that restorative practices were effective in reducing student misbehavior and improving school climate.
- “The impact of restorative justice on student outcomes: A review of the research” (2019) by Welsh, Sullivan, and Jones. This review article summarized the research on the impact of restorative justice on student outcomes. The authors concluded that restorative justice is an effective approach to improving student behavior and school climate.
- “The effectiveness of restorative justice in reducing bullying: A systematic review” (2018) by Smith, Schweitzer, and Thapa. This systematic review investigated the effectiveness of restorative justice in reducing bullying. The results showed that restorative justice was effective in reducing bullying behavior.
Resource Date: September 2023
With thanks to Mountfield Heath School for their inspiration in developing this pack.
