Ms Rachel O'Connor:

In the current climate, the procedures are outdated in that they do not take into account the online space.

There are references to procedures but more focused procedures and guidelines need to be put in place for schools. When schools shut down on 12 March 2020, I spent all evening trying to come with up with etiquette and guidelines because my teachers asked me what could they do in this space or whatever.

Regarding the guidelines and procedures, we need resources for schools to strategically implement those procedures. The biggest issue with them is that they are not bespoke. Each school has its own school context, school issues, bullying issues, etc. When one gives a once-off template, changes the name of a school and there is no strategic training and no resources input then teachers are not brought together and school leaders are not trained. If I am not trained in it, then I am sending out my policies to all of my stakeholders, they have nothing to add, we have been told what to do and it comes back again. The guidelines and procedures are not bespoke for schools and they do not really engage with the online space so they need to be updated to engage that.

To return to what the DeputyÓ Ríordáin said about data gathering, a strategic and systematic way of getting that data back to a central place, wherever that may be, should be built into the procedures and then schools resourced accordingly because we do not want the inequity gap to widen. Where some schools have all of the resources in the world, they can train their teachers in restorative practice and implement all these different programmes but the schools that to do not have the resources and have the biggest bullying issues fall further and further behind. Therein, the Department is helps to create that positive school culture and climate that a lot of the members have asked about.