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At Newlyn School, we believe that positive relationships are the foundation for a happy and successful learning environment. Our Restorative Practice Behaviour Curriculum focuses on building respect, responsibility, and empathy, helping children learn how to manage their behaviour and resolve conflicts in a constructive way.
What is Restorative Practice?
Restorative Practice encourages children to understand the impact of their actions, take responsibility, and repair harm. Instead of focusing only on punishment, we help children learn from mistakes and develop the skills they need to make better choices.
How does it work?
Our Collaborations
Each year, we work with the Step Up Programme to train children in Upper Key Stage 2 as Restorative Coaches and Peer Mediators. These pupils support younger children in resolving conflicts and building friendships. This promotes the voice of the child—ensuring every child is heard, valued, and respected—while teaching how to acknowledge mistakes and find age-appropriate, meaningful solutions.
Why is this important?
This approach helps children:
Our Goal
We want every child to feel safe, respected, and ready to learn. By using restorative practice and empowering pupils as leaders, we create a school community where children take responsibility, build positive relationships, and grow into caring, confident individuals.
At Newlyn School we explicitly teach emotional regulation to children through using the Zones of Regulation toolkit.
At Newlyn School, we help children understand and manage their emotions so they can feel calm, confident, and ready to learn. We use the Zones of Regulation framework alongside Emotion Coaching strategies to support children from early years through primary.
What are the Zones of Regulation?
The Zones of Regulation teach children to recognise their feelings and link them to four colour zones:
Children learn strategies to move back to the Green Zone, helping them regulate emotions and make positive choices.
How does Emotion Coaching fit in?
For our youngest children (ages 2–4), we use Emotion Coaching to help them name their feelings and understand that all emotions are okay. Adults guide children through calming techniques and problem-solving, building strong foundations for emotional resilience.
Why is this important?
When children can recognise and manage their emotions, they feel safer, learn better, and develop healthy relationships. These skills last a lifetime.
Staff at Newlyn School use the scripts above to help to support each child to have their voice heard. The questions used by staff promote engagement by the children, without being led. Children have the opportunity to share their open and honest thoughts and resolutions are found through effective reparation between children in adults. The outcome of such is determined by the interactions of the children and common ground is sought collaboratively.
Some children find it really hard to talk when they are heightened. We use some visual cue cards to help dialogue to begin in these moments.
Adjusted versions are used to suit the age and stage of development of the child/ren.
Please see the resources below.
