Dr. Paul Downes:

I wish to come in on a number of other points. It is important to note that bullying is not a static phenomenon in a school. It can change over the school year. I would very much encourage school-based surveys. I have come across situations of surveys where you could have three fourth class groups, for example, one of which with very significant bullying issues and the other two without any significant issues at all. The class-by-class granular analysis to document that, term by term, is an important dimension we need to have as part of the school co-ordinating committee. It can fluctuate quite significantly.

The challenging of the deep-seated thought processes of some of the entrenched bullying perpetrators is an intensive support that is needed at times where there may be many reasons the person is putting up cognitive defences. That needs an intensive relationship of trust built up over time to really explore the roots of why that person is engaging in bullying and for him or her to discover his or her own motivations in respect of the bullying situation. This is not then just a glib once-off conversation.