Middle Park Primary are circling back to Restorative Practices.
During our Professional Learning Day one of the team wrote this on her notetaking placemat:
Mess Up. Fess Up. Fix Up. Leave Behind.
A simple, honest, restorative, stored response reminder about the processes and mindsets to bring to a school culture.
She shared that this isn’t just how she supports students – it’s the process she holds herself to when she falls short. That’s the shift. Not perfection, but responsibility. Not shame, but repair.
It got me thinking.
There are plenty of moments – as an educator, parent, partner, friend – where I’ve messed up… but skipped steps. Avoided the fess up. Delayed the fix up. Held onto things longer than I should have. And in doing so, stayed caught in that quiet pull of shame many of us experience in life.
Restorative practice reminds us that we don’t have to stay there.
We name it. We own it. We repair it. And then… we restore the relationship.
That’s what restorative culture looks like in action.
This is educational – showing young people that mistakes don’t define us, but how we respond to them does.
So, here’s the question:
Where have you messed up? and what’s your next step?
