At North Downs we have been embedding Relational and Restorative Practice for over a year. Relational Practice is grounded in well-evidenced approaches.  It focuses on repairing harm and rebuilding trust when things go wrong rather than simply punishing mistakes. It isn’t about just “being nice.” It involves professional boundaries, consistent expectations, and emotional containment.

At North Downs, we view every interaction as an opportunity for growth, learning and building strong relationships. This approach supports children in developing positive and appropriate ways of interacting with others, while helping them to recognise the logical consequences of their actions. Through consistent, compassionate guidance, we aim to nurture self-awareness, empathy and responsible decision making in every child.

Alongside our high nurture and support, staff set high boundaries, to regulate pupil behaviour and apply sanctions or consequences when expectations are not met. Behaviours that affect the rights or safety of others are unacceptable. All incidents are managed in a Restorative way either by adults in the classroom or by members of the leadership team as appropriate.

Why Restorative Practice?

Restorative Practice puts relationships at the heart of everything we do, creating a culture where everyone feels they belong and where everyone has a voice. Our restorative approach helps pupils:

• Understand how their actions can affect others.
• Develop  characteristics they can use in and out of school.
• Understand themselves and each other better
• Learn why it's important to see another person's point of view.
• To see that it's okay to make mistakes.
• Learn how to move through conflict creatively, taking responsibility for their own behaviour and being part of deciding what happens next.

Restorative conversations are used to address conflict and to repair relationships, questions will be used to:

• Engage (what happened from your perspective?)
• Explain (who has been affected and how?)
• Expect (what is needed to make things right?)

Pupils get the right challenge and support at the right time. We challenge in a healthy, non-blaming way. The underlying premise of Restorative Practice rests with the belief that children will make positive changes, when adults work with them rather than doing things ‘to’ or ‘for’ them. A restorative approach requires a high level of challenge (e.g. setting limits, boundaries, expectations and consequences) with a high level of support (e.g. encouragement, nurture, compassion, empathy and listening).

Over the past year, staff have worked on numerous INSETs on what Relational and Restorative practice looks like at North Downs. We are proud of our Restorative Practice and Behaviour Policy, as well as our Behaviour Blueprint and Handshake.  The Restorative Practice and Behaviour Policy now replaces our traditional behaviour policy and is linked to policies such as the Anti Bullying Policy and the Complaints Policy.

For more information, please click on the following link L30 The importance of relational practice