Code requirements

1. Commitment to Restorative Values: Show a strong and visible commitment to restorative and relational practices as key elements of community success. All strategic stakeholders should articulate this commitment clearly.

2. Communication of Practices: Clearly define and communicate how restorative and relational practices are integrated into the organisation and daily operations.

3. Guided Interactions: Ensure all interactions, both internal and external, are grounded in restorative values. Foster a culture of collaboration and mutual respect when addressing conflicts and repairing harm.

4. Promote Understanding of Restorative Practices: Actively engage stakeholders in educational initiatives that explain the importance of restorative practices within the educational setting.

5. Safe and Inclusive Environment: Create a space that is safe, inclusive, and reflective for all, making sure that everyone feels valued and respected.

6. Knowledge of Equality and Diversity: Ensure that all staff understand protected characteristics and the principles of equality, diversity, inclusion, and anti-discrimination, promoting an anti-racist ethos throughout the organisation.

7. Support for Special Educational Needs: Adapt restorative practices to meet the needs of individuals with special educational needs and/or disabilities, ensuring equitable access to resources.

8. Integration into Daily Routines: Weave restorative values into daily routines and transitions to promote emotional safety and consistency for everyone.

9. Training: Provide initial and ongoing training in restorative practices for all staff members, and young people where appropriate, according to their roles. This training should promote the consistent application of restorative principles.

10. Support and Supervision: Offer tailored support and supervision for staff and, where appropriate young people, at all levels, empowering them to implement restorative practices effectively.

11. Encourage Collaboration and Best Practices: Create an environment that fosters collaboration among trained practitioners and facilitates the sharing of best practices both internally and with external networks.

12. Stakeholder Involvement: Involve students, families, and other stakeholders in co-developing and refining restorative and relational practices.

13. Staff Application of Practices: Ensure all staff can demonstrate and provide evidence of how they apply restorative values in everyday interactions and incidents.

14. Community Participation: Offer creative opportunities for all community members to participate in and learn about restorative and relational practices.

15. Quality Assurance Processes: Establish quality assurance mechanisms for restorative practices that are reviewed regularly to ensure compliance with RJC standards.

16. Ongoing Evaluation: Implement systematic evaluation processes to assess the quality and impact of restorative practices. Use the findings to inform ongoing development.

17. External Evaluation Reporting: Submit external evaluation reports to the RJC, categorising findings as requiring improvement or indicating below-standard performance.

18. Reputation Management: Ensure that all actions uphold the integrity of the RJC and the broader restorative sector, avoiding any behaviour that could undermine their reputation.

Where formal and/or indirect restorative processes are undertaken, a Restorative Educational Setting must:

• Provide full and impartial information to all stakeholders who are involved in the restorative processes. This must include information about the process, the potential outcomes and the procedures for monitoring any outcome agreement that is reached between the parties as a result of their participation
• Confirm that all parties have acknowledged the harm caused, taken responsibility and are willing to participate in the process
• Ensure that appropriate consent has been gained from all parties. Such consent must be free and informed and may be withdrawn at any time. It is important that no one is pressured into taking part in any process
• Be satisfied that any restorative process is in the interest of all parties involved
• Ensure participants’ safety by completing appropriate risk assessments and putting in place suitable safeguards
• Keep participants personal data securely in line with Data protection legislation and GDPR guidelines
• Ensure that any outcome agreement reached between participants as a result of a restorative process is reached voluntarily and all parties are kept informed of the progress of the outcome agreement
• Provide employees with either individual or group practice supervision every 12-weeks led by an appropriately trained practice supervisor as outlined within the RJC’s Practice Guidance 

If the RJC has concerns about the conduct of a Registered Restorative Educational Setting or if a setting is believed to have violated any part of this Code, we reserve the right to suspend their registered status while an investigation is conducted.