In this episode, Clare talks to Murray Hodge-Neill, Assistant Director of the PBL team at the ACT Education Directorate, Australia, about restorative approaches in education.

In Part 1 of a two-part series, they discuss the history of and terminology around restorative approaches. They also explore the key principles and components of a restorative approach and what some of the barriers might be for staff and schools.

Murray is a teaching professional in Canberra, Australia. He is an accredited Team Teach trainer and currently manages Team Teach training for all 93 schools in the ACT Education Directorate, including supporting approximately 150 Foundation trainers.

Murray has expertise in restorative processes in schools and is a trained Restorative Conference Facilitator. Murray leads the Restorative School Communities Initiative in ACT schools, providing professional learning and implementation support directly to schools.

He shares some useful terminology around restorative approaches:

Restorative approach – Conducting oneself in personal interactions in ways that prioritise relationship, seek to understand with empathy, and value each individual. A restorative approach is collaborative, looks for solutions, and strives to be at peace with those around you.

Restorative culture – An environment where all people use a restorative approach. Relationship, empathy, and collaboration are central when making decisions and addressing harm or conflict.

Restorative conversations – An approach to resolving conflict or harm that centralises mutual understanding, identifying harm, and agreeing on how to repair harm and interact more positively in the future. A restorative conversation explores what happened, what harm was caused, how it is currently affecting people and relationships, and deciding the way forward. Restorative conversations also look beyond what was done and said, to include what people are thinking and feeling.

Restorative conference – A more formal and structured form of restorative conversation that is used for incidents that have a higher level of complexity or harm. Restorative conferences are not scripted, but they follow a structured and consistent format. Restorative conferences should only be facilitated by someone with the skill required for the complexity of the situation.

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