Mr. Mark O'Connor:

Inclusion Ireland welcomes the opportunity to discuss this very important bullying in schools issue as it continues to be an important one that arises in our advocacy work. According to research, children with additional needs are two to three times more likely than their peers to experience bullying. The UN also points out that "children with disabilities are six times as likely as other children to experience violence and abuse". This is especially true for children with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities.

The bullying experienced by children in schools must be seen through the prism of general attitudes towards people with disabilities in Ireland, the absence of inclusive educational systems and the importance of children's mental health supports. One important aspect to consider on bullying is attitudes towards people with disabilities in Irish society. For example, the National Disability Authority has reported that 28% of the public agree that children with autism or an intellectual disability should not attend the same school as their non-disabled peers. Addressing the negative attitudes towards children with disabilities must form part of the response to tackling bullying of children with additional needs. Northern Irish research illustrates that children with additional needs felt that they were bullied because they were different, and that the bullying was related to their disability. Inclusive education and societies are important factors in addressing bullying as research shows isolation from peers is a risk factor for children with additional needs to be bullied.

The NDA has proposed five guiding principles to underpin a framework for schools to ensure that their school becomes a place where staff and children are happy and safe from bullying. These are: A rights-based approach to protect children from bullying to govern and underpin principles and practices; systemic interventions; inclusive processes; education and training for both pupils and staff; and leadership training and communication. This framework shares many common principles with inclusive education.

Children's mental health services are a key part in supporting children with disabilities who have been bullied. It is worth noting that between 35% and 40% of children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities have mental health difficulties during their life, which is five times greater than the general population. At the same time, the child and adolescent mental health services or CAMHS intellectual disability service is virtually non-existent.

To conclude, the following actions can be undertaken to address bullying and support children with additional needs who have been bullied. They are: The Government must engage in a public awareness campaign on reducing the stigma around disability in general; the Government must invest in inclusive education as it would result in better short and longer term social outcomes for children with additional needs such as in maintaining positive peer relationships, and better social development into their later years; continue the improvement of therapeutic supports by providing speech and language, and occupational therapy, within educational settings where required; and the Government must invest in the child and adolescent mental health services, especially CAMHS intellectual disability services.