Education and Skills – School Bullying 21st January 2014

To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of reports of various forms of school bullying reported or identified in 2013; the degree to which any new initiatives have been taken to address this issue.
– Bernard J. Durkan.

To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which his Department has monitored incidents of bullying amongst children or teenagers; if any particular issues have arisen wherein it might be possible to discourage all
forms of bullying of young persons; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
-Bernard J. Durkan.

* For WRITTEN answer on Tuesday, 21st January, 2014. Reference Number: 2919/14, 53794/13

I propose to take questions 278 and 233 together.There is no requirement that schools report incidents of bullying behaviour to my Department.

The Deputy will be aware that I recently published new anti-bullying procedures for all primary and post primary schools. These new procedures have been developed following consultation with the relevant education partners and replace guidelines that were issued to schools in 1993.

The procedures are designed to give direction and guidance to school authorities and school personnel in preventing and tackling school-based bullying behaviour amongst its pupils. They include specific requirements in
relation to the use of prevention and education strategies and the consistent investigation, follow up and recording of bullying behaviour.

The procedures however include important new oversight arrangements that involve the school Principal reporting regularly to the Board of Management and a requirement for the Board to undertake an annual review of the school’s anti- bullying policy and its implementation. Confirmation that the annual review has been completed must be provided to the parents association and published on the
school website.

All schools are now required to immediately commence the necessary arrangements for developing and formally adopting an anti-bullying policy that fully complies with the requirements of the new procedures. This is expected to be completed by each school as early as possible in the 2013/14 school year but in any event by no later than the end of the second term of the 2013/14 school year.