Restorative practice is one tool out of many. It can be as useful as a hammer putting up a picture frame, or as useless as a screwdriver sawing wood. It is *very often* done badly.

For it to be any use, participants must be capable of feeling remorse for their actions.

It’s of little use when participants don’t feel like rules apply to them. Or when they see nothing wrong with what they did. Or they don’t care about others very much

Worst of all, it should never be used as a *replacement* for systems of sanction and reward. Otherwise most kids start to think ‘you can do what you want and there’s no consequence.’ That’s not entirely true but that’s what it conveys. And that’s disastrous.

You normally see the same kids in restorative conversations, over and over. At some point you have to ask, ‘Is this now just a detention system, but done badly?’

Finally: if there’s no relationship to ‘restore’ then there’s not much point having a restorative conversation. Many victims of bullying hate having to converse with their attackers. We punish them twice by insisting upon it.