Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

The Bill before the House, which will be debated this evening and tomorrow, sets out to amend the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 to enshrine in legislation obligatory anti-bullying policies that must be implemented on a mandatory basis by school boards of management so there are enhanced procedures in place to deal with bullying whenever it occurs at school. In order to inform the debate, it is important to list in some detail what this Bill sets out to achieve. If adopted, the amendment to the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 will provide for binding, mandatory measures to be imposed on the boards of management of schools to ensure that the welfare of a child is adequately safeguarded concerning all forms of bullying that may occur within a school.

Section 2 offers an updated definition of bullying and includes reference to cyberbullying and some of the vulnerable at risk groups that often find themselves the target of bullying. Section 3 amends the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 by introducing a new section in which the onus of responsibility is placed upon the board of management, and the elected officers of that board, to adopt and implement an anti-bullying policy in every recognised school. Section 3 also lists the procedures to which a board of management must adhere when a complaint is made by a pupil or their parent or legal guardian, or when a member of staff knows of a pupil or other person within the school who is being bullied. This new section also provides parents or legal guardians with the security of knowing the exact measures being taken by the board of management in relation to the individual case. It also ensures that regular and accurate communication is kept between the officer and the parent or guardian by enshrining into law set timeframes which must be adhered to.

Section 4 introduces a new requirement on the Minister for Education and Skills to introduce regulations based on existing guidelines, which will have the effect of giving those guidelines legal status in their current form. The Minister will also be obliged to review those newly introduced regulations every two years. This Bill, therefore, introduces a legislative framework that should be implemented in conjunction with a whole-school approach to bullying, which is underpinned by strategic interventions at a school management level.

I readily accept that the legislation we have published is by no means the finished article. There is plenty of scope to refine and improve its content. I want to place on record, however, that this is a genuine attempt to implement progressive legislation that, if enacted, will protect pupils and teaching staff in schools across this State. There can be little argument that legislation in this area is long overdue. For 20 years, successive governments have failed adequately to address this issue and it is simply unacceptable that the existing guidelines to help schools deal with bullying date back to 1993 and have no proper legal standing. The current procedures in place to deal with bullying in a school setting are at best an ad hoc solution to what is a complex issue that manifests itself in many different ways.

In 1993, school boards of management were handed the responsibility of preventing and countering school bullying, with no additional time or resources being allocated. This was an ineffective response to bullying which unfairly burdened boards of management with a role they were ill-equipped to fulfil. The situation has been further compounded by the failure of Government to legislate properly to allow schools to have a clearly defined set of procedures in place to help teachers and management deal with this issue in a thorough and professional manner. We also need to provide a clear definition of bullying that reflects the changed nature of society in the last 20 years, by recognising the various forms it can take as well as the motivations that influence this type of behaviour.

Bullying is a complex and difficult issue that can manifest itself in many different ways. It can leave long-lasting physical and mental scars on its victims. At worst, the physical and psychological damage to an individual can, as we have sadly seen in recent months, be a significant factor that leads to self-harm and-or death by suicide. In recent months, the media have highlighted the awful tragedy of teenage suicides associated with bullying, which is clearly the worst possible scenario. Far more common, however, is depression associated with bullying, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, eating disorders and deliberate self-harm that all too often lead to truancy, absenteeism, early school leaving and, in some cases, individuals being forced to change schools.

The implications for teaching staff who find themselves victims of bullying can be just as profound. Stress related illnesses arising from bullying prevent many teachers from functioning properly, leading to enforced time off work as well as disillusionment and frustration in the workplace. All of this takes a considerable emotional toll on the child, teenager and teacher concerned. In turn, it has wider implications for the extended family circle and society in general. In many cases, there is also a direct financial cost to the State in terms of medical interventions and having to provide substitute cover for teachers out on sick leave as a result of the emotional distress caused by bullying.

As legislators, we need to do more than pay lip service to what is happening in our schools because words alone are meaningless without having in place the type of robust safeguards that protect the well-being of children and staff in a school environment. This is something on which we can all agree. We have only to examine the international best practice of other countries where they have applied evidence-based strategies in response to bullying in schools and the workplace to understand the importance of legislative reform. When considering this Bill, we should also strive to achieve a co-ordinated approach to implement reforming policies on an all-Ireland basis because bullying is as relevant an issue north of the Border as it is here in the Twenty-six Counties.

I cannot overstate how important it is that we learn from the anti-bullying measures and procedures that have been implemented in other countries. Norway, for example, is a country with similar demographics and population to Ireland. It is recognised as being a world leader by the way in which it has dealt with this issue. A key to that country’s success has been to ensure that, from the outset, up-to-date and effective anti-bullying policies have been in place. Such policies are underpinned by legal reforms made in the Norwegian education act of 2003. By adopting this type of strategic approach to the problem, experts such as Professor Erling Roland have concluded that the enhanced efforts made in Norway have led to decreased incidence of bullying behaviour in schools. In short, those efforts have had tangible and meaningful benefits to the health and well-being of children, young people and teachers. It is something we should seek to emulate.

Closer to home, having a mandatory anti-bullying policy in the Six Counties since 2003 has helped to ensure greater co-operation between relevant groups and people with expertise in this area, so that a more coherent strategy has been central to the efforts to address bullying in schools. This has been a significant step forward which has helped to improve matters in that part of the island. It surely makes a great deal of sense to expand this type of initiative and have both jurisdictions working together towards a common goal, on an all-Ireland basis, with clearly defined outcomes. It is difficult to imagine why a school in Newry must have an anti-bullying policy based on legislation, while a school in Cork does not.

In a broader context, legislation to tackle bullying is important in establishing a healthy and positive school ethos. The UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child, to which Ireland is a signatory, states that children have a right to feel safe at school. This begs the question of how this is possible if bullying is not addressed effectively.

This of course opens a broader debate that must be considered because there is a good deal of evidence to show that young people learn what they see and experience in schools, as well as what is formally taught to them. Schools should be places of mutual respect and dignity, where people feel safe and free to achieve their potential as citizens.

When I discussed this Bill with various stakeholders, the response has been positive in most cases but some concerns have been expressed regarding implementing legislation on bullying, one of which was it may over-burden teachers and boards of management at a time when there is a scarcity of resources. While I acknowledge the genuinely-held concerns of those individuals and groups, especially when so many important front-line education services have been cut over successive budgets, I believe the opposite to be the case. I believe having in place clear and precise procedures and regulations will greatly benefit teaching staff and boards of management, as well as the children under their care. This is because, as most professionals working in this field will confirm, when there is confusion or a lack of clarity with regard to a school’s procedures for anti-bullying action, more time is wasted by students and staff as they attempt to deal with an incident whenever it occurs. This lack of clarity in the absence of clearly defined procedures ultimately results in a greater likelihood of conflict and anguish developing between the victims of bullying and their families on one side and school authorities on the other side, which can often make a difficult situation a good deal worse. Additionally, there also is the adverse emotional consequences for the target of the bullying and his or her family because of the delay in dealing with an incident and the unnecessary stress this can cause. The intention of this Bill therefore, is not to over-burden schools, boards, principals and teachers but rather is to help them in their work by providing the necessary claritythat is so important when dealing with such a complex and difficult issue.

One of the significant flaws in relying solely on the 1993 guidelines is they were drafted before the advent of the Internet and the social media which have, for all their undoubted benefits, provided a new and highly invasive way for those who bully to target their victims. Within this Bill, we have attempted to define the various types of bullying because it is extremely important to be clear on what is meant by bullying and cyberbullying. We are now at a position where the older members of the "always on", "digital native" population are in the senior cycle of second-level education. It is inappropriate to expect schools to be guided solely by a document drawn up in 1993. Members must update and extend their consideration to include the technological advances that have developed subsequently. The question as to whether cyberbullying can push a young person too far is moot, as recent media reports have shown this to be the case. My party also has attempted to define other at-risk groups to protect the targeting of people because of their sexuality or identification as a member of an alternative subculture, such as goths, punks, skaters and so on. The fundamental ethos underpinning this Bill is the safeguarding of children and assisting already hard-working principals and teachers in undertaking this important work. I am sure the Minister of State will agree this is an issue that transcends party politics and is of great importance to every parent and educator in this State. Should the legal reform at the core of this Bill be implemented, the present Administration and future Governments also will be obliged to continue to introduce measures to resource and assist schools in preventative practice. That is the reason Sinn Féin has included a section whereby the Minister for Education and Skills would review the proposed new regulations set out in the Bill on a two-yearly basis. This week’s announcement by the Minister that schools will be obliged to keep a formal record of bullying incidents, that patterns of bullying will be tracked and schools obliged to react, certainly is a welcome if long overdue development. The announcement of mandatory reporting and plans to circulate a report template is a step in the right direction and has been linked to a similar successful procedure in Sweden. It also is a constituent part of the school’s anti-bullying plan in the Norwegian Zero programme, which, like the home-grown programme in this State known as the Erris Anti-Bullying Initiative, has a far wider-reaching set of resources and procedures. I therefore call on the Government and Opposition parties to support this Bill which, if enacted, will provide a legal framework to ensure there are clearly-defined procedures in place to help teachers and school boards of management better manage the issue of bullying in schools.

I will conclude by quoting Nelson Mandela, who, in his foreword to the World Health Organization’s World Report on Violence and Health of 2002 stated:

Violent cultures can be turned round. ... Governments, communities and individuals can make a difference. ... We owe our children – the most vulnerable citizens in society – a life free from violence and fear. ... We must address the roots of violence. Only then will we transform the past ... legacy from a crushing burden into a cautionary lesson.

The culture of bullying can be turned around. Members must address the root causes of bullying and only then can they provide children with a life free from violence and fear of bullies. Members must act now to strengthen the laws in order that schools are better equipped to deal with bullying and in so doing, they will have provided enhanced protection for this and future generations of teachers and children.

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