The Builders Project – An RP Journey of Two Schools

Chia Siew Hui is the Year Head at Teck Whye Primary School. She is the Year Head for Primary 1 and 2. She is also one of the key players who oversees Discipline, Case Management & Student Development Team.

Jameela Masood is the Head of Discipline/Student Management at Teck Whye Primary School. She has been in Teck Whye Primary since 2014. She oversees the Discipline, Case Management and Student Development Team at Teck Whye Primary.

Rodney Mohan is the Subject Head of Discipline at Yew Tee Primary School. He oversees the Student Well-being & Discipline Committee and is a member of the Student Development Team at Yew Tee Primary School.

Dr. Peace Wong is a Senior Lecturer with the Department of Social Work at the National University of Singapore and teaches practice modules such as Working with Individuals and Families, Working with Children and Youths, Groupwork and Interpersonal Skills.

Both Teck Whye Primary School and Yew Tee Primary School were part of 2-year pilot project, the Builders Project, in 2015. The Builders Project is a student-centric, school culture improvement programme implemented upon principles of Restorative Practice. This workshop will be jointly conducted by teachers from both Yew Tee Primary School and Teck Whye Primary School, and Dr. Peace Wong.

Teck Whye Primary School

At Teck Whye Primary School, we strongly believe in disciplining with care. As such, we embarked on the Restorative Practice Approach in 2015. We adopted this approach to instill a positive school climate where students take accountability for their actions and learn to build trusting relationships with their peers, teacher and family. Through this programme, we have strengthened our disciplinary process by equipping our teachers with skills and strategies to instill values, manage student behaviours and change attitudes towards each other in class. Students are now more open to resolving conflicts, more forthcoming about their actions and understand better that they have a role to play in making Teck Whye Primary a happy school to learn and grow.

Yew Tee Primary School

In managing the overall discipline of the school, Yew Tee Primary School adopts the RP approach in guiding and assisting the students to self-reflect on their actions and apply the school values that will help them to achieve a high standard of self-discipline. Through this approach, Yew Tee Primary School wants students to work towards building a positive and meaningful relationship with teachers and peers. Successively, the infusion of these traits will place them on the path to live the school's vision of being Reflective Learners, Gracious Citizens. Rodney will share on how the RP approach was pivotal in reinforcing a culture of care among both students and teachers. Rodney will also share strategies on how RP is an important tool to foster a more positive Teacher-Student Relationship (TSR) in the classroom such that it evokes the Joy of Learning in the students.

Dr. Peace Wong

An evaluation study was commissioned by the National Council of Social Service (NCSS) in 2016 to ascertain the effectiveness of programme in achieving positive outcomes for schools, as well as to generate new insights that might enhance the implementation of Restorative Practice as a preventive and reintegrative intervention method for students in Singapore. The study was conducted with Dr. Peace Wong Yuh Ju, a Senior Lecturer from the National University of Singapore, Department of Social Work, and Dr. Jocelyn Chua Wan Loo, a research consultant from Impetuz LLP. Using a mixed method, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from practitioners, as well as teachers and students from two schools. Findings and recommendations will be shared during the session.

---

Sign up for the conference to learn more about Restorative Practice and Restorative Justice in Singapore and other countries. We look forward to seeing you there.