The overall aim of using Restorative Practices at Tai Tapu School is to ensure the school:

• Builds positive relationships

• Builds caring communities

• Maintains safe and happy learning environments

• Reduces bullying

• Builds a personal sense of identity, self-reliance and self-esteem

• Supports students and their families

• Builds classrooms as communities

• Builds social and emotional competencies

• Ensures our young people are accountable to each other and own their behaviour

Our Approach:

Tai Tapu School believes that our school should be a positive and enjoyable experience, free from all forms of negative conflict.

With this in mind, we have adopted a restorative approach to behaviour management.

Restorative practices are innovative ways to:

• Build caring communities around students whilst not accepting harmful behaviour. In other words, supporting people to take responsibility for their actions and repair any harm that’s been done.

• Involve all those affected by the conflict to find another way forward, reducing anger and resentment.

• Recognise and encourage staff, parents, carers and the community's contributions to promoting great relationships that enable better behaviour and better learning at Tai Tapu School.

Benefits of the restorative approach:

• Makes school a safer, happier place where students’ talents are recognised and rewarded.

• Raises attendance levels.

• Reduces incidences of bullying.

• Provides greater opportunities for support and mediation when conflict occurs.

Linking the Restorative Approach to the Restorative Values, Tai Tapu School Values and with Key Competencies.

Restorative Values:

Respect is the foundation of trust and goodwill. It is about being non-judgmental. Irrespective of age, gender, culture, race, actions or status, all human beings have inherent and equal worth.

Participation is about inclusiveness for everyone and working collaboratively. All those involved in the restorative process have something valuable to contribute.

Honesty is required when working together and meeting the needs of each other. Those involved must be committed to nurturing relationships, act with integrity, and seek to clarify and understand issues.

Humility is being aware of our limits and vulnerabilities. It is about respecting others, acknowledging self-doubt and recognising that we may not know what others need. Empathy, impartiality and mutual care are manifestations of humility.

Interconnectedness is understanding that all things are connected, especially within the web of relationships. The focus of the restorative process is on reconnection and nurturing relationships. It is about using those individuals who are connected to the wrongdoing and bringing them together with their victims to address the repair that is needed.

Accountability is responding appropriately to the moral obligation to accept responsibility. Taking responsibility is about acknowledging the truth and supporting and assisting with repairing and problem-solving. Recognising responsibility also involves taking responsibility for caring for others.

Empowerment sets an expectation that all participants are active in their role, with an opportunity to express their thoughts and feelings about an incident and find an appropriate response to the situation. They can tell their stories and have their concerns heard. Empowerment involves a non-judgmental attitude, flexibility and active listening.

Tai Tapu School Values – Making a difference – self, others and our environment

Manaaki – Respect - Be kind to all!

Hononga – Connection – Connect to ‘OUR’ HAUORA

emotional
physical
spiritual
social
he land

Māia - Courage ‘Have the courage to make a difference.’

Tipu - Growth – Knowledge, Achievement, Creative Learning and Personal Best

Key Competencies:

Relating to others:

• Is about interacting with people in various situations by recognising and accepting different points of view, through negotiation and sharing of ideas.

Managing Self:

• Is about consciously choosing what we do and understanding the effects. It requires understanding personal identity, self-awareness and the ability to reflect.

Thinking:

• Is using creative, critical and logical processes to make sense of concepts ask and answer questions and develop ideas.

Using Language, Text & Symbols:

• Is an essential and complex competency that is vital for representing, and communicating information, experiences and ideas.

Participating and Contributing:

Is to be an active member of Tai Tapu School and the wider community by using real problems or needs to drive change and further learning.

What is bullying?

Bullying is defined as ‘an aggressive behaviour intending to hurt a person targeted as weaker by another person.’ Bullying may be verbal, physical, or psychological and include the threat of future attack. It is a deliberate and repeated abuse of power.

Types of bullying

Physical Bullying (hitting, tripping, and pushing or damaging property)

Verbal Bullying (name calling, insults, racist remarks, gender insults/taunts, verbal abuse)

Social Bullying (ignoring, excluding and encouraging others to socially exclude someone, alienating)

Psychological Bullying (lying and spreading rumours, playing nasty jokes to embarrass and humiliate, mimicking, stalking, dirty looks, hiding or damaging possessions)

Cyber Bullying (use of email, text messages or chat rooms to humiliate and distress)

***Many distressing behaviours are not examples of bullying even though they are unpleasant and often require teacher intervention and management.

Bullying is not!

Mutual conflict is an argument or disagreement between both students but not an imbalance of power. Both parties are upset and usually want a resolution to the problem.

The social rejection or dislike: unless the social rejection is directed towards someone specific and involves deliberate and repeated attempts to cause distress, exclude or create dislike by others, it is not bullying.

Single-episode acts of nastiness or meanness, or random acts of aggression or intimidation: Single episodes of nastiness or physical aggression are not the same as bullying. If a student is being verbally abused or pushed on one occasion, they are not being bullied.

Nastiness or physical aggression directed towards many different students is not the same as bullying: Even though nastiness or physical aggression directed towards many different students is not bullying, the school still assists students and treats these situations most seriously.

In this issue

Tai Tapu School Newsletter Term 4 Issue 3