Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 18 May 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills

School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health: Discussion (Resumed)

Ms Ann Piggott:

Even basic training in the whole world of computers is needed. Children at the age of two can turn on their mother's phone whereas the Covid pandemic saw many teachers using computers regularly for the first time. That is a start. Training is needed, even simple basic training on bullying because many people might not fully appreciate what it is if they have never experienced it. They might not appreciate the depths of it or might dismiss it as being not so bad for people.

Guidance counsellors, of all staff, are very well trained so it is more a question of having more time to spend with each student and of listening to them. After all, guidance counsellors have two roles, namely guiding students on their career paths and counselling them. If the rest of the teachers could have some of the guidance and counselling training, it would help enormously.