Dr. Siobh?n O'Reilly:

I will respond to the Deputy's question about what we focus on when we measure. I understand the frustration about whether we are seeing any decrease in prevalence. We would advocate looking at a school climate survey and the things across a school that create a caring and safe climate. If we focus solely on prevalence, we run the risk of exactly what the Deputy is talking about, namely, wondering why it is not more effective. Regarding measuring self-efficacy, we see significant improvements in terms of students' confidence levels and ability to recognise bullying and intervene as bystanders. This year, the anti-bullying centre looked at how teachers perceive their own capacity. They feel more confident after delivering the FUSE programme. They are really important factors.

As somebody who was involved in implementing programmes in the community for a very long time, I sometimes share the frustration. We talk about evidence-based practice. Why does it not hit the ground? Some of that is around context. Some of the evidence we have is not in the same context in which we implement it. This is why we advocate implementation that takes account of the school and the community around it. How can that be facilitated on the ground?