Restorative Discipline Policy & Procedures

Definitions:

Discipline

Is a process to teach socially acceptable behaviour and to inculcate the culture of the school into the school community.

To be disciplined entails acting in accordance with what is regarded as socially and culturally (the school's culture) acceptable behaviour in the school community of Clifton Preparatory School, Nottingham Road.                  

Restorative Justice

A set of principles, a philosophy and an alternative way of thinking about wrongdoing. It encompasses practices to involve, to the extent possible, those who have a stake in a specific disciplinary matter and to collectively identify and address harm, needs, and obligations in order to heal and put things as right as possible, in instances of wrongdoing.

Restorative Discipline

Refers to disciplinary measures taken in accordance with the principles of restorative justice. Restorative discipline focuses on the prevention of misconduct. If misconduct does occur, the restorative approach to discipline will focus on measures to address the harm caused by the misconduct. The needs and interests of everyone affected by misconduct must be investigated and addressed. Furthermore, the process must be used to teach socially acceptable behaviour and must empower everyone involved in the process to learn from mistakes, how to avoid unacceptable behaviour in future and how to react appropriately when one is the victim of unacceptable behaviour.

Holistic Development

Staff and learners have an opportunity and obligation to develop their full and individual potential on a social, emotional and physical level.

Stakeholders

Staff, children and parents.

Misconduct

Any conduct that is not in line with what is socially and culturally (school's culture) acceptable in the Clifton Preparatory School, Nottingham Road community, that causes harm to another, are not aligned with the values of the school and/or contradicts the code of conduct for children.

Address Harm

To take steps to address the consequences or harm caused by misconduct.

Aims of the School Discipline Policy:

The aims of the discipline policy are to:

1. Ensure an environment that is conducive to teaching and learning.

2. Ensure that the constitutional rights of all the stakeholders of Clifton Preparatory School, Nottingham Road are respected, protected, promoted and fulfilled.

3. To develop mechanisms to address the harm caused due to misconduct.

4. Do ensure that misconduct is used as teachable moments as far as possible.

5. To prioritise teaching acceptable behaviour and use punishment as a last resort.

6. Develop a uniform, whole-school approach towards discipline which is applicable to all the stakeholders, staff, children and parents.

Restorative Discipline Philosophy

Clifton Preparatory School, Nottingham Road adopts a restorative approach to discipline which entails the following:

1. Misconduct is seen as a violation of people and not merely breaking rules.

2. Misconduct is seen as socially-unacceptable behaviour that harms other people in one or another way and includes physical, emotional, psychological, financial or any other form of harm that is suffered by an individual, group or the reputation of the school due to the misconduct.

3. The harm done to others create obligations. The harm must therefore be addressed and wrongs must be fixed.

4. Those that caused harm to others through their conduct must take responsibility for their actions.

5. Taking responsibility first and foremost means that every effort should be made to put those that suffered harm in the same, or as close as possible to, the position they were in before the harm was caused.

6. There should always be consequences for socially unacceptable conduct.

7. Everyone with a stake in a matter will be afforded an opportunity to indicate how they were harmed.

8. Everyone with a stake in a matter will be afforded an opportunity to take part in a respectful process to find solutions to address the harm.

9. Building relationships to prevent misconduct is key to the discipline approach followed at Clifton Preparatory School, Nottingham Road

10. In the event that misconduct does occur every effort should be made to not only address the harm caused by the misconduct, but also to repair and rebuild relationships and reputational damage due to the misconduct.

11. Stakeholders that refuse to take responsibility for their actions will be dealt with in the traditional punitive approach which includes suspensions, expulsions or dismissal through a formal disciplinary hearing and where appropriate, criminal charges are applied.

    • Suitable measures must at all times be taken to ensure the short-term and long-term safety of everyone at the school.

Implementation of the Restorative Discipline Approach

Foundational values of the school

1. The values of the school must be determined through a consultative process which includes all the stakeholders.

2. The values of the school must be aligned with the constitutional values and constitutional imperatives.

3. The conduct and decisions of all the stakeholders should at all times be informed by and evaluated against the values of the school.

4. The values of the school should be revised, at minimum, every three years.

Restorative School Discipline

The values of the school should be engrained in the culture of the school and must be visible in all the activities of the school and its stakeholders. This includes, but is not limited to, academic, sport, cultural, management, governance, support, relational and fundraising activities.

Prevention of misconduct

1. A whole-school approach should be followed where socially acceptable behaviour is consciously taught in and through all school activities.

2. Conscious efforts should be made to change the school culture to ensure that every learner, staff member and parent feel safe, have a voice to give their opinions and to feel at home at Clifton Preparatory School, Nottingham Road.

3. Building relationships among all the stakeholders is important. Positive relationships between learners and between learners and educators/staff should be prioritised.

4. The emotional intelligence of learners should be developed as well as their ability to solve problems due to conflict between themselves or conflict between themselves and their educators.

5. The impact of targeting/bullying should be highlighted. Efforts to eliminate this type of behaviour should be made.

6. Learners with psycho-social problems should be identified as soon as possible and steps should be taken to ensure that the learner receives the necessary help or be referred appropriately.

Early intervention after misconduct

1. Every educator must maintain discipline in her or his classroom and or at activities that she or he is responsible for within the philosophy of the school.

2. When misconduct does occur, the transgressor must be afforded a reasonable opportunity to take responsibility for her or his actions.

3. The harm caused by misconduct must be explored in a respectful manner.

4. Parties with a stake in the matter must be afforded an opportunity to come up with possible solutions to address the harm.

5. The collective (those with a stake in the matter) must decide on a suitable solution to address the harm.

6. Transgressors must adhere to commitments made to address the harm, failing which will lead to follow-up actions. These should, as far as possible, be restorative in nature to address the ongoing disciplinary problems.

7. Dedicated programs do exist in the school to prevent serious misconduct such as targeting/bullying or physical violence against others.

8. Dedicated programs should be developed to deal with specific and recurring types of misconduct such as targeting/bullying, aggressive behaviour, frequent late coming or failure to do homework.

9. The underlying reasons for misconduct should be investigated.

10. Learners that pose an immediate danger to other learners should be removed from the situation and the situation should be managed restoratively afterwards.

11. An informal disciplinary approach in line with the code of conduct is preferred, but the formal process (punitive approach which includes a formal disciplinary hearing) must be followed if the informal process is not suitable to deal with the misconduct.

    • Accepting responsibility for actions is a prerequisite for applying a restorative approach to discipline, failing which a punitive approach will be followed.

12. Concerted efforts should be made to teach children the value of taking responsibility for their actions and to address the harm they caused.

Formal intervention after misconduct

1. Teachers must refer serious instances of misconduct to the principal for investigation and determination of the suitability of a restorative approach.

2. The assistance of other professionals must be sought as soon as it is evident that a child repeatedly transgresses or act aggressively.

3. Parents/caregiver/guardians should be involved in any formal intervention processes.

4. Parents/caregiver/guardians and the school management should treat each other as partners and focus on the best interests of all the learners in the school.

Responsibilities of Stakeholders

Deputy Principal

The deputy principal is responsible to:

1. Adhere to the constitutional prescriptions regarding human rights.

2. Manage the implementation of the school's discipline philosophy and a restorative approach throughout the whole school.

3. Drive the culture change in the school and be the ultimate role-model for the implementation of the restorative approach to discipline.

4. Report quarterly to the Board on the state of discipline in the school and progress with the implementation of the restorative approach to discipline in the school.

5. Deal with teacher staff discipline (involving Heads of Department and the Headmaster, if applicable, in a restorative manner.

6. Stay abreast of the latest developments and discipline practices.

7. Attend basic and advanced training on restorative discipline and the management of culture change.

8. Ensure that all new staff are trained in restorative practices and that refresher courses are attended by all staff.

9. Ensure that enough staff received the advanced training in restorative practices to apply it confidently should the need arise.

10. Ensure that the best interests of every child are considered in any disciplinary action that is taken.

11. Keep the Headmaster and the Board of Governor’s Chair informed with regards any severe behavioural infractions. 

12. Report any instances of educators that use corporal punishment to the Headmaster, Department of Education, the police, SACE and the Board.

Teachers/Staff

Every teacher/ staff member must:

1. Adhere to the constitutional prescriptions regarding human rights.

2. Ensure that the best interests of every child are considered in any disciplinary action that is taken.

3. Put restorative discipline theory into practice within their classroom and co-curricular environs. 

4. Uphold the discipline philosophy within the school and at all school activities.

5. Be a role model and champion of the school values and restorative practices.

6. Report any instances of teachers that use corporal punishment to the principal who is obliged to report it to the Department of Education, the police, SACE and the Board.

School-Based Support Team

1. Investigate the suitability of the support provided to staff to implement the restorative approach to discipline and report quarterly on it to the principal and the Board.

2. Build networks with the Department of Education, district officials, non-governmental organisations and other service providers that can assist children with  behavioural problems.

3. Assist or refer parents who struggle with parenting skills to other professionals.

Parents

Parents should:

1. Realise that they are first and foremost responsible for the discipline of their children.

2. Support the efforts of the school to instil positive values in their children.

3. Support the educator(s) and the Board that have to deal with the unacceptable behaviour of their child.

4. Realise that they act as role models for their children and other learners and that their conduct should therefore be in line with what is socially acceptable in the Clifton Preparatory School, Nottingham Road community.

5. Be willing to take responsibility for their actions should they harm the reputation of the school.

6. Attend training sessions or developmental opportunities arranged by the school to improve parenting and discipline skills.

Children

Every child must:

1. Comply with the provisions of the code of conduct.

2. Act at all times in accordance with the values and norms of the schoo1.

3. Take joint responsibility for the values and norms at the school.

Empowerment

Teacher

Continuous efforts should be made to assist and train teachers to implement the restorative approach to discipline in the school through dedicated training sessions, refresher courses and financial support.

Children

All children must be taught basic negotiation and mediation skills by the end of their Grade 7 year as part of the life orientation curriculum.

Budget

In the annual budget of the school provision should be made for:

1. Support measures and structures for counselling.

2. Staff training on behavioural management issues.

3. Training of learners as peer mediators.

4. General development of soft skills of teachers and children.

Applicability of the School Discipline Policy

The school discipline policy is applicable to all staff, children, parents and guardians of children of Clifton Preparatory School, Nottingham Road.

Signed at...........................................on this…… day of (month)….…………., (year)………

Principal