Schools Encouraged to Use Restorative Justice to Curb Student Conflicts

Educators and administrators are being encouraged to use restorative justice (RJ) practices for conflict management and resolution in schools.

Restorative justice practices focus on preventative measures designed to address issues spurring conflict.

Principal Director for the Social Justice Division, Jamie-Ann Chevannes, said the Justice Ministry has partnered with the Ministry of Education and Youth to introduce training in restorative justice practices in schools.

“The education partnership was born out of the fact that we saw an increase in fights within our schools and we saw very little de-escalation of those. With RJ practices there, you use still circles like a conference, but it is executed in a different manner,” she explained.

Ms. Chevannes, who spoke with JIS News recently, said these tools can be used by teachers in the classroom.

“Before you begin your class, you can do your check-in circles. You can do your check-out circles at the end of the day to get a feeling of where your students are. “We are asking teachers and our partners in the communities, such as our churches, to sign up for us to do these trainings for your congregants and schools, so [that] we can utilise the full gamut of what RJ has to offer to our nation,” she said.

Meanwhile, more than 200 facilitators are being trained to support Jamaicans’ increased access to restorative justice.

Acting Director of the Restorative Justice Branch within the Social Justice Division, Saccsha Ebanks, said the trainees comprised community stakeholders, including Justices of the Peace, teachers and other individuals “with an interest in seeing peace and harmony in our nation”.

“We will be taking them on an 11-module virtual course, which started in August and is scheduled to end in October,” she said.

Restorative justice services can be accessed through designated centres islandwide.

Special accommodation can also be made for clients who are overseas or otherwise unable to physically come in, to engage in virtual sessions.

“We do not want [for] there to be a barrier to access to RJ, so we have developed a hybrid approach, [but] we do still have virtual sessions,” she said.

For details, persons can visit the Ministry of Justice’s website at www.moj.gov.jm.