Nick Haisman-Smith

Executive Director of the Institute for Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)

Workshop Information:

This session offers concrete leadership practices that support the sustainable integration of SEL and restorative approaches across a school community. 

It draws on real-world experience to explore what it takes to lead cultural change—from building staff capacity to shifting discipline systems toward relational, inclusive models. 

Participants will leave with actionable tools and frameworks that can be shared with colleagues to strengthen connection, accountability, and belonging across classrooms and leadership teams alike.

This hands-on, practical session explores how SEL can supercharge the development and sustainability of restorative cultures in K–12 schools.

The session blends an exploration of proactive community-building strategies with responsive restorative tools—offering an actionable roadmap for embedding restorative practices into the daily fabric of school life. 

The session is grounded in IFSEL's evidence-based 'Restorative Practices Ecosystem' model, and is brought to life through case studies from schools across Europe.

Through these case studies, we will highlight how foundational SEL skills—like emotional regulation, active listening, and perspective-taking—equip students and adults alike to engage meaningfully in both proactive rituals and responsive relationship-repair reflections and conversations. 

By grounding restorative practices in SEL instruction, schools can build on and deepen existing practices to cultivate inclusive cultures where all students feel seen, valued, and empowered to take ownership of their learning and behavior.

Session Outcomes:

1. Understand how SEL enhances both proactive and responsive restorative practices to build belonging, prevent harm, and address conflict constructively.

2. Experience practical tools—rituals, SEL skills, reflection strategies—and develop the confidence to apply restorative approaches across varied classroom and school settings.

3. Explore the design features of, and start creating your own Responsive Restorative Practices Choice Board

Biography:

Nick Haisman-Smith (he/him) is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of The Institute for Social and Emotional Learning and a Doctoral Researcher at the University of Bristol, focusing on SEL and Educator Belonging. Nick supports schools and districts around the world to activate evidence-led best practices for SEL. At the core of his vision for SEL in education are the beliefs that SEL must be rooted in equity and school culture, and that schools must take a whole-community approach to make SEL sustainable. Prior to co-founding IFSEL in 2009, Nick taught upper-elementary through to high school in the UK, South Africa, and the USA.

He has presented and given keynotes at conferences around the world, including The Sunday Times Festival of Education (UK), Talks at Google (UK), Practical Pedagogies (Germany), Future of Education Now (China), National Association of Independent Schools (USA) and the CASEL SEL Exchange (USA). He is a Zinc Inflection Fellow, and Member of the British Psychological Society. Nick’s latest publication is “Building and Sustaining a Whole-Community Approach to Equity-Rooted SEL.” in Social-Emotional Learning: Strategies, Development and Educational Impact, edited by S. Riley Ordu, 105–124. New York: Nova Science Publishers.