Mr. Damian White:

The Deputy mentioned patronage and that whole area. It is true that patronage is overwhelmingly religious but in the vast majority of schools there is huge openness. My experience, as a principal on secondment from a Catholic school I will be going back to in September, is that no child who ever came through the door was made uncomfortable because of religion, race or anything else. Everyone was welcome and we made provision and always will for children who are of different faith or persuasion in any way.

On staffrooms and teachers who are alternative in their own way, I think staffrooms are generally welcoming places. The atmosphere in the vast majority of staffrooms is very good. At primary level, everybody is trained to teach the same thing so it is easy to focus everyone's mind on the same thing. At second level, it breaks down to subjects and subject areas but primary teachers have to work together in a successful school. It is the same at secondary but particularly in our case. There is no room for that kind of thing. There may be someone here or there who has an experience that suggests otherwise but, as a principal and knowing as many principals as I do, it would not be tolerated that any teacher be made uncomfortable.

I referenced adult bullying in my submission. I said it happens. Wherever there is an interface between people, adult bullying can happen and somebody can be made to feel uncomfortable for whatever reason. We have supported, I think, 29 cases involving adult bullying over the last five years with our supports and services. That would not detail all of those cases. A principal has to stand up and make a decision around who teaches what class, or what class a child is allocated to. Parents will come in, there may be an interaction and it might not be pleasant at times. We are trained and we deal with it and de-escalate wherever we can to return it to normal. In normal circumstances, it sorts itself out. There are occasions, however, where principals feel threatened. There is no denying that. It has happened and does happen. We deal with it and support those where it has happened. It is an issue principals deal with.

On where that research came from, Dr. Phil Riley looked at principals' health a couple of years ago. He did a huge wide-ranging study across IPPN and NAPD members and came up with the results.

I think there should be more SPHE. There is a lot of incidental SPHE. There is a need for more but the curriculum is quite full already. We need more physical education as well. We are trying to look at where to take the time from. Every subject can make its own case so it is a question of striking a balance.