Goatsown Educate Together Secondary School has been awarded €5,000 as part of the Féilte Bursary Scheme to collaborate with St. Kilian’s Deutsche Schule and Ballinteer Community School to form a professional learning community for wellbeing. The project aims to strengthen positive school relationships and promote kindness by providing Restorative Practice (RP) training to teachers in participating schools.
Led by a team of three trained RP practitioners, the professional learning will focus on developing staff capacity to use restorative language and approaches in everyday interactions. By expanding the number of teachers trained in RP, the project supports the Bí Cineálta anti-bullying initiative, aiding empathy, respect, and accountability, resulting in a more connected, inclusive, and preventative school culture across the school communities.
School's reflection
Participating in this Féilte-supported professional learning project was an extremely valuable and positive experience for all three schools involved. Through our collaboration, we successfully established a meaningful community of practice centred on restorative practice (RP) in education. The project created opportunities for teachers from different school contexts to share experiences, challenges, strategies, and perspectives on behaviour, relationships, and school culture.
One of the most significant outcomes of the project was that staff in both partner schools received introductory restorative practice training, helping to build a shared understanding of restorative approaches and language across the schools. The training encouraged reflection on current practices and highlighted the importance of relationship-centred approaches in supporting student wellbeing, communication, and conflict resolution.
Teachers reported increased confidence in using restorative conversations and a greater awareness of the benefits of proactive and relational approaches to behaviour support. The collaborative nature of the project also allowed staff to openly discuss the challenges of embedding restorative practice in busy school environments, leading to practical and supportive professional dialogue.
The project has strengthened professional relationships across the schools and laid strong foundations for continued collaboration and the further development of restorative practice to positively impact both teachers and students.