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Restorative Justice
Resources
If you have a case study or resources for this section that
you would like to share with other local authorities please visit
the case studies page of the toolkit.
Schools can respond to bullying in a variety of ways. Whatever
they choose, the method should be clearly explained in the school’s behaviour policy and the school
anti-bullying policy.
Depending on the nature of the incident, a
traditional disciplinary approach may be most
appropriate – but there are also a number of alternative
approaches utilised effectively by schools.
Restorative Justice is one of the most popular and
well-researched responses.
Restorative justice methods were originally
developed from the peacekeeping methods used by Maori communities
in New Zealand; they are also used in the criminal justice
system. In 2000 the Youth Justice Board piloted started using
these methods in schools to deal with incidents of bullying.
This was rolled out to 26 schools and in 2004, an evaluation found
that the approach had been successful and had numerous
benefits.
The method involves healing emotional damage
and making sure that fairness and justice prevails. It is not
about finding who’s to blame, but making sure the young person who
has caused the harm understands the impact of their
behaviour. There is no set way to administer restorative
justice – it ranges from a very formal process through to an
informal approach to everyday events.
For more information on restorative justice,
visit http://www.restorativejustice.org.uk/.