Parramatta Public School · School leadership
Harm Assessment
A framework for calm, consistent suspension decisions. Assess harm and time for restoration, not incident severity.
Professional judgement support — not an automated suspension decision.
Ask these three questions
Move from the heat of the incident to a clear-eyed assessment of harm before placing the situation on the quadrant.
Consider emotional, physical, relational and safety dimensions. Look beyond the most visible person affected to everyone in the surrounding community - including bystanders, staff and the broader school environment. Harm is not always loudest where it is deepest.
What does the cumulative harm look like across days, weeks or months? A single low-level incident may represent the final moment in a much longer story of damage. Equally, a high-profile incident may be isolated with limited cumulative harm. Assess both.
Or do they need time and distance first? Restoration attempted while people are still in a heightened emotional state rarely holds. The goal is authentic repair - not a premature process that satisfies an administrative requirement but leaves the harm unaddressed. Sometimes the most restorative thing you can do is create the conditions for restoration to become possible.
The Harm Assessment Quadrant
Use your answers above to position the situation. The midpoint is a preview convention, not a policy threshold.
High harm above · low harm below. Short time left · extended time right.
Action guidance · low harm / short time
Address & Restore
- Suspension is not recommended.
- Address using restorative processes as a matter of urgency, resolving any residual student shame before it becomes personally toxic or a negative narrative builder.
- This is the vast majority of school incidents.
Legislative and system requirements
In some jurisdictions and circumstances, you may be required to suspend regardless of your harm assessment. Where that is the case, this tool does not change the decision - it changes what you do with it. A mandated suspension is still an opportunity to prepare conditions for a better return. Use the quadrant to plan accordingly.