Children often have “fall outs” or arguments with their peers. Occasionally, this can become a bigger more serious problem, if not dealt with quickly and thoroughly. If no resolution is found, not only can the problem grow but others can also be drawn in and the situation can quickly escalate. Adopting the basic principles of restorative approaches to crime (focussing on healing the harm done, rather than concentrating on the punishment) our Restorative Justice Responders in Schools project is currently running in Oxon., Berks., and Bucks.
Our trained facilitators help schools deal with disputes swiftly, within the school environment rather than a police setting. Resolving issues in this way has many benefits. It encourages empathy and accountability in the children and has become more common in recent years as an effective way to resolve disputes and deal with challenging behaviour – offering an effective alternative to punitive responses to wrongdoing. It helps avoid young people entering the criminal justice system unnecessarily, frees up local policing (so they can focus on other community issues), generally avoids escalation of the issue and can result in a more harmonious outcome for all concerned.
