Mr. Seamus Mulconry:

The CPSMA welcomes this opportunity to take part in a round table discussion with the Oireachtas joint committee on the topic of school bullying and the impact on mental health. The CPSMA is the management support organisation for Catholic primary schools. Since the school closure in March of last year we have dealt with more than 15,000 queries from approximately 2,400 schools.

I believe schools are putting a huge amount of time and effort into proactive strategies to make school environments as welcoming and inclusive as they can be and, on the whole, those strategies are working, according to the vast majority of children in our schools. Schools have comprehensive social, personal and health education, SPHE, curricular plans where the focus is on building relationships and developing skills needed for children to engage with each other. Many schools also engage in the Friends for Life, Incredible Years and other whole school programmes to build resilience and foster good relationships. Wellbeing is at the heart of many schools’ self-evaluation process and initiatives such as restorative practices, wellbeing and friendship weeks, buddy benches and amber flag schemes, among others, help promote the values of respect and tolerance as well as educating children on how to engage appropriately with others.

This work is paying off. As the latest chief inspector's report notes:

Primary schools were found to be managing their pupils well and the vast majority of parents are happy with their child’s school. In particular, questionnaire results from pupils and parents indicate a very high level of satisfaction with the arrangements in place in many schools to promote positive relationships and to tackle bullying.

The Growing up in Ireland study also found, "A very large majority of 9-year-olds (93%) said they liked school" which, I suggest, is a major change from how school was experienced in times gone by.

We also all remember the many images of smiling and joyous children delighted to be returning to school buildings in the media last September, reinforcing the importance and value of primary education for children’s socialisation as well as their education. However, relationships are complex and require work on an ongoing basis. If they break down for whatever reason, all schools have anti-bullying procedures, in line with circular 45/2013, to deal with that, which are annually reviewed. When a report comes to a school either through observation or from a pupil or parent, schools follow that policy. This would entail an investigation of the alleged incident where the class teacher and-or the principal would talk to the parties involved. A breakdown in relationships is a very complex matter. It can take time to establish what is occurring and whether bullying is substantiated. The school engages with both parties to repair and restore the relationship using restorative practices. Schools do much good work in this area. It can provide opportunities for healing.

However, schools are also experiencing a rise in interpersonal issues which are occurring outside of school on social media. There is an obligation to deal with these matters in school in certain circumstances as part of the anti-bullying procedures, which can be extremely challenging as the school has no control of what happens when a pupil leaves the school grounds. Schools are also reporting to us that these issues are taking up more and more time at the expense of teaching and learning.

While schools are implementing the procedures laid out, targeted training should be provided for teachers and boards of management on the educational responsibilities for schools, strategies to deal with investigations and restorative practices to resolve such issues. Training for parents also needs to be provided to help them support their children in building and maintaining relationships and to educate them on how the anti-bullying procedures are implemented by schools. A review of the Department of Education’s anti-bullying procedures from 2013 should take place in consultation with school communities.

Schools require increased supported in dealing with mental health issues in general. The presence of the National Educational Psychological Service psychologists is now rarer than our most endangered bird species, the corncrake, while a referral to the child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, can take up to 18 months. This is neither fair to children nor schools and should be addressed as a matter of urgency.