We Are A Restorative Practices School

Connection comes first - Restorative Practice at MHS

Morisset High School is the first school in Western Lake Macquarie to introduce Restorative Practices as the framework that underpins all teaching, learning, and behaviour and relationship management at our school.

This whole-school focus is centred around stronger relationships, not only in the ways our teachers and staff connect with our students, and the way students connect with each other, but also in how our school connects with families, and the community.

Using Restorative Practices in the classroom, in the yard, and to help manage when things don’t go to plan, is a powerful way to build positive relationships, to resolve conflict, improve student behaviours, reduce negative relationships, encourage personal responsibility, and empower students to make things right when things go wrong.

How does Restorative Practice work?

Working restoratively is based on asking students the right questions when things go wrong.

To help resolve conflict or disagreement at school, traditionally teachers put their detective hats on and focus on finding out what happened, or what happened in the past.

Restorative Practice gives teachers, staff, students and families the tools to unpack conflict or disagreement, focusing on the present impact and how this conflict can be resolved and most impactful in the future. These are important interpersonal skills that students will take with them into their adult lives.

Put simply, in a situation of conflict or disagreement between students, our staff will ask your children questions like:

• What happened?
• How has that made people feel?
• What actions will you take to restore the relationship and make things better?

Our ongoing partnership with Real Schools provides our school community with resources, access to expertise, and support to make the best use of Restorative Practice tools to benefit all learners.

Click on the link to access Restorative Practices: What's In it For My Child information sheet.

Click here to read article and learn more about how Priming Language can be used to encourage positive behaviour at school and home.

The Feelings Wheel - Supporting MHS students to resolve conflict and build emotional intelligence

The Feelings Wheel provided by our Restorative Partners at Real Schools is used by MHS staff in Affective Interactions to help our students communicate how they feel and develop their emotional intelligence to resolve conflict or accept responsibility when things go wrong. 

Affective Interactions are an effective way to help children understand their actions, express their feelings, and work towards making amends. This method involves guiding children through a process of reflection and resolution by discussing the past, present, and future.

We call these interactions - P3P3F3s - which describes the highly structured way that we work with, and support our students to develop the skills they need to manage and resolve conflict or interpersonal issues. It takes less than 10 minutes to work through this process, for students to air and speak about what happened, how it made them feel, how their actions may have impacted on others, and how they will help make amends or agree to behaviour in the future for the positive benefit of the relationship and their learning at school.  

In this article, linked below, parents and carers can find out how they can use the Affective Interactions tool to work with their child, or support their child to address their feelings, and interpersonal issues, and work towards a positive resolution. 

Affective Statement: Past, Present and Future

Click here to read the Less Is More article from Real Schools for advice on ways to support your child when issues arise at school.

Click on the link to learn about Stored Responses, and how having a list of prepared things to say to your child can help create positive interactions, with positive outcomes.