Four cities, one mission: Restorative practices enter Bulgarian schools: Teachers, psychologists, and specialists shared experience and took the first steps toward safer and more supportive learning environments.
In June and July 2025, a series of interactive workshops were held in four Bulgarian cities – Montana, Varshets, Blagoevgrad, and Gotse Delchev – as part of the project “Building a Safe School Environment through the Introduction of Restorative Practices.” More than 80 teachers, psychologists, and specialists from different schools and institutions took part, with the shared goal of developing skills to apply restorative practices as a new approach to conflict resolution and trust-building in schools.
Participants found the practical elements and the restorative instruments most valuable – restorative circles, conferences, and affective statements. In Montana, teachers emphasized that “situations, case studies, and restorative circles” gave them a clear idea of how to apply the method in the classroom. In Varshets, participants highlighted the usefulness of “the techniques for effectively facilitating circles and conferences” and “the importance of affective questions for building empathy.” In Blagoevgrad, “informal conversations with empathy and role-playing exercises” were especially appreciated, while in Gotse Delchev, the focus was on “working with real cases and having the opportunity to facilitate circles independently.” These feedbacks were result of a very engaging two days during which a deeper understanding of the restorative culture was accomplished along with practical skills how to apply the wide range of practices in the school setting.
A common message across all workshops was the need for the entire school community involvement to ensure sustainability. Participants stressed the importance of “training the entire school staff,” “engaging students and parents,” and securing “leadership commitment.” Some even suggested “dedicated class time for real case discussions” and “assessing where the method would be most effective.”
The four workshops demonstrated that the restorative approach can transform the culture of relationships within schools. The approach offers an alternative to punishment – working on various issues through dialogue, responsibility, and restoring connections. As one participant put it: “Restorative practices are not incidental, but a continuous process – logically structured and with real power to change the school environment.”
As first steps particpants started to plan how to implement restorative approach at school. They started developing a logical framework pointing out steps, resources and instruments needed to become restorative schools. This process of planning will continue during the next few months.
The Handbook “Restorative practice at school” developed by Dr. Daniela Kolarova, Partners Bulgaria director, provides useful guidance for teachers and school administrators how to introduce restorative practices at school and build a culture of peace, safety and respect.
https://partnersbg.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Restorative-school-practices-web.pdf
The workshops were held within the framework of the project “Building a Safe School Environment through Restorative Practices”, co-funded by the European Union and the Foundation “Workshop for Civic Initiatives” (WFCI). The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union and the WFCI. Neither the European Union nor the WFCI can be held responsible for them.
