Restorative Futures: An Inclusive Approach to Tackling School Bullying and Cyberbullying through Digital Restorative Justice and Family Engagement

Drawing on an ecosystemic framework (Artinopoulou et al., 2023), this study examines parental perceptions of rather than objective evaluations of school responses to bullying and cyberbullying. A mixed-methods survey of 868 UK-based parents revealed high levels of dissatisfaction with current school practices, characterised by perceptions of trivialisation, inadequate consequences, slow communication, and recurring harm. Nearly half (46.6%) reported that their child had experienced school bullying, while 22.6% reported cyberbullying. These figures are consistent with UK-based empirical work (Tzani et al., 2021; Hatfield et al., 2019; Tzani-Pepelasi et al., 2020). Although 42.3% of parents believed their school employed Restorative Justice (RJ), qualitative data indicated substantial confusion between authentic restorative practices and punitive measures mislabelled as restorative. Despite these inconsistencies, most parents (61.3%) expressed willingness to participate in an online RJ process, particularly those with higher educational attainment and prior bullying involvement. Thematic analysis highlighted key barriers and conditions necessary for effective digital implementation. This study assesses perceived feasibility and parental attitudes; it does not evaluate RJ effectiveness, and interpretations are framed accordingly throughout.