TTAUSNZ Becoming a Trauma-Informed Restorative Educator
5 minute read…
“There’s a marriage of trauma-informed practice and restorative approaches in the brain. They are inextricably linked, and one cannot happen without the other.”
Margaret Thorsborne
A trauma-informed restorative approach in education requires us to think differently about behaviour. The overarching philosophy is that any breaking of rules, or disappointing of expectations, should be viewed through the lens of people and relationships, resulting in damage, ruptures and harm.
As an increasingly common model for addressing conflict in schools, a restorative practice seeks to ‘put things right’, and repair and restore bonds that have been damaged. Neuroscience helps us understand why this is a more effective approach than punishment, when it comes to thinking about behaviour: we are tribal beings, who are wired to live with and have good relationships with others, so when this does not happen, the consequences can cause us enormous distress.
So, if we are going to live harmoniously in our communities, both within and beyond the school gates, we need to understand that a restorative approach to behaviour, especially one that takes account of children and young people’s trauma, is central to creating a positive, supportive, and safe environment for all.
The continuum of restorative practice
From an educational perspective, restorative practice was historically applied in relation to formal proceedings, where a serious incident had already occurred, and where fixed term or permanent exclusions were a likely outcome. A planned response to high-level behaviour, so to speak.
While this remains the case in many instances, schools are now taking a more proactive, informal approach to the process, using it to intervene early, and avoid situations from escalating in the first place. As Margaret Thorsborne, experienced mediator and expert on restorative practice in schools and the workplace, says,
“A sound, well-embedded restorative practice helps staff to become confident and competent in keeping the small things small.”
So what does that look like in practice? It might involve having a quick chat with a pupil when we sense that disagreement or conflict is imminent; or, it might mean being aware of key times when dysregulation is most common (typically, first thing in the morning, and after break times), to ensure that potentially-challenging situations are defused swiftly.
Key principles of a restorative approach
Inclusive decision-making is central to any effective restorative process. This means that the people who are ‘in the problem’ understand it best. In other words, when there is an incident, the people directly involved (those who have caused the harm, and those who have been harmed) are best placed to solve it.
A defining characteristic of the restorative process is handing the ‘problem’ back to those involved, and supporting them to them solve it, without imposing our own solution.
Whereas punishment separates people, a restorative practice brings them together, and the results can be transformative. This ideally involves face-to-face, in-person meetings, where individuals are encouraged to take accountability for their part in a conflict, and understand others’ perspectives. The physical environment serves to facilitate the process: it should happen in a safe, comfortable space, where participants are able to see each other, and communicate clearly.
The aim of the interaction is to make sense of what happened, and understand the harm caused to individuals. Only then can the process of rebuilding trust and repairing relationships begin.
Why a trauma-informed restorative practice matters
While any child or young person can be involved in conflict or confrontation, or present with distressed behaviours, those with underlying trauma, such as ACEs, PTSD, or C-PTSD, may be more likely to struggle and comply with the demands of everyday school life.
Patterns of stress, such as the ongoing after-effects of the pandemic, and an endless onslaught of global crises, along with personal trauma endured in childhood, can all change the structure of the brain, making it incredibly challenging for them to access the prefrontal cortex, responsible for higher-order skills, such as emotional regulation and executive function.
As a result, they may become dysregulated more readily, and end up in situations where they find themselves distressed, and in confrontation with others. These children, in particular, benefit from a restorative approach to conflict resolution; an approach that seeks to understand the reasons for their behaviour, and supports them to rebuild damaged relationships.
How do we facilitate the restorative process?
For all children, but particularly those with underlying trauma, the ‘restorative archway’ forms the foundation of the process: from preparation, through to participation, and finally onto follow-up, each of these three stages underpins all restorative work, and each needs careful consideration.
Preparation:
Timing is key, and in preparation for a restorative conversation, all participants must be calm and regulated. If a child or young person – or indeed, any adults involved in the process – is dysregulated, they will not have adequate capacity to relate to and reason about what has happened.
It’s also vital for any staff or adults involved to be aware of the nature of a child’s trauma, so that this can be well understood and factored into the process, thus avoiding retraumatising them. Trauma is not an excuse for behaviour, but it does help to explain it in many instances, so any background information helps us to connect the dots, and form the bigger picture.
If a child is struggling to articulate clearly what happened, it can also be helpful to create a chronological timeline, to ascertain the sequence of events.
Participation:
Throughout the process, carefully crafted questions allow us to explore what happened and why (without asking directly), identify motivations and intention, and consider what it might have felt like for other people.
For example, we may direct these questions towards the person responsible:
- Can you tell me what happened?
- What were you thinking about at the time?
- What have you thought about since?
- Who has been affected by what you have done?
- In what way?
And to the person harmed, we might ask:
- What did you think at the time?
- What have you thought about since?
- How has this affected you?
These questions encourage accountability and responsibility, and prompt individuals to think about the effect of their actions on others. Once we have ascertained what happened, and discussed the harm caused, we can then pose questions about how to put things right:
- What needs to happen to make things right?
- How can I help?
- How would you like me to follow up with you?
During the process, it’s important to demonstrate a calm, curious demeanour, and avoid interrupting; our role is to facilitate, not direct.
Follow-up:
After the process is complete, it’s vital to ensure that everyone involved is clear about any actions or next steps. With children and young people, it can be helpful to set up regular check-ins, to help them succeed at rebuilding relationships that have been damaged.
As practitioners, there will also be implications for us, in terms of reviewing and adapting our policies and practices or evaluating our learning environments to make sure we are providing optimal conditions for a ‘regulated’ classroom.
Long-lasting benefits of a trauma-informed restorative approach
When things go wrong in a school or classroom, blame, judgement, and punishment do little to change things in the long term; instead, when we understand individuals’ trauma, and how it influences behaviour, we can approach conflict with compassion and understanding, and create enduring, transformative change for the people in our care.
A trauma-informed restorative approach fosters empathy and honesty, gives individuals an appreciation of how their behaviour impacts others, and enables them to resolve disagreements without violence or aggression.
However, this can only happen against the backdrop of a safe, secure, and predictable environment, where emotionally-regulated adults are trained in restorative practice, and where connection is always valued over correction.
