Restorative Justice Champions

"Be A Buddy Not a Bully!"

Our Anti-Bullying Mission at St Michael's

Our school is a place where everyone feels safe and accepted and has a sense of belonging.  All staff, children and the local community will work in collaboration to prevent all forms of bullying. At St Michael's we “value the uniqueness of every person in our Catholic Christian Community, realising that every one of us is created in God’s likeness.”

We will not tolerate bullying of any kind by adult or children. We believe that:

•  Our Christian faith teaches us that each person is made in the image of God and therefore bullying is unacceptable.
•  Pupils develop best in a secure and safe environment.

Work together to help those children who experience bullying at school.

At St Michael's the children also agreed that our mission would include the following:

• We stand up for each other
• Everyone is treated fairly and equally
• Be more inclusive not exclusive
• Be kind and help others
• Be mature and respect others
• Be a good listener
• To build good relationships with others around the school

Roles and Responsibilities

Our Restorative Justice champions will take their role very seriously and ensure that they:

Help spread the ethos of anti-bullying across the school and in the community.

Make sure they are aware of what bullying is and how we can fairly tackle any issues of bullying.

• Ensure that all children understand what ‘bullying’ is
• Ensuring that pupils know what to do if they are being bullied or know someone else who is e.g. go to teacher, Restorative Justice Champion.
• Setting up Peer Mentoring, Restorative Justice ambassadors or similar schemes
• Ensure that Anti-bullying week (or friendship week) is celebrated, that pupils are involved in planning activities
• Promoting positive friendships and healthy relationships
• Giving students a voice on bullying and prejudice issues e.g. via school council and Anti Bullying meetings
• Bullying on social media – originating from outside the school – and how to respond to this

Meet our Restorative Justice Champions

Our champions consist of KS1 and KS2 children who were elected by their classmates to foster and promote a welcoming environment for all children in our school.

Anti-Bullying Week - 10th - 14th November 2025

Term 2 Meeting

A meeting was held with the Restorative Justice Champions to introduce this year’s theme, “Power for Good.” During the session, the children discussed their responsibilities as Anti-Bullying Champions and explored ways in which they can recognise and reward peers who demonstrate kindness on a daily basis.

Each champion was issued with “shooting star” tokens to present to pupils who display notable acts of kindness. They were also provided with a notebook to record any restorative practices or interactions they observe during break and lunch times.

The week began with children proudly wearing odd socks to celebrate individuality, alongside engaging assemblies in both Key Stage 1 (KS1) and Key Stage 2 (KS2) led by the Department of Police Education (PCSO). The sessions focused on understanding what bullying is and how it can become a criminal offence if someone is found guilty. Pupils explored the difference between being a bystander and an upstander, concluding that standing up for what is right—being an upstander—is the cornerstone of kindness within our communities.

Odd Socks Day 2025 - Monday 10th November 2025

Term 1 meetings

The children have been given special resources to share with peers who demonstrate kindness during their time at school. They have also received a notebook to record any concerns or challenges they encounter while carrying out their roles as Restorative Justice Champions. Any issues noted can be shared with the Anti-Bullying Lead, the Mental Health Lead, or the Deputy Headteacher, who will provide guidance on the next steps.

This year, the champions are focusing on Power for Good. To begin, a team meeting was held to educate the children about their roles as RJCs. The children were supplied with resources to hand out to a member of their class, once a week, to celebrate someone who has shown kindness and respect to them. The shooting stars will be displayed on the RJC board.

Next Term, the RJCs will be leading an Anti-Bullying Assembly for all their peers. In this assembly, they will educate their peers on how to sustain a friendly school.

In addition to the assembly, the whole school will be engaging in activities on Odd Socks Day scheduled for the 10th of November 2025.

Term 2 Meetings

This term, we have adopted the theme of Choosing Respect as a whole-school approach to eliminating bullying and fostering a positive school culture.

On November 7th, 2024, the Restorative Justice Champions (RJC) met to plan the upcoming Anti-Bullying Week and Kindness Day activities.

The following day, November 8th, the RJC lead met with the school Governor to share the initiatives and strategies being implemented to address bullying within our school community.

As part of our Anti-Bullying Week celebrations, on November 12th, we participated in Odd Socks Day, encouraging students to wear mismatched socks as a fun way to celebrate individuality and embrace differences.

On Kindness Day, November 13th, our Key Stage 1 (KS1) students joined a World Kindness Day conference call. They learnt that kindness is free, that working together is key to spreading kindness, and that respecting and valuing each other's differences is essential.

A recorded version of the call was shown to Key Stage 2 (KS2), who learnt that empathy is an important way of working together to promote kindness in our school community.

Receiving Kindness presentation to the whole school