Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 131: To ask the Minister for Education and Science her views on the reported increase in homosexuals being bullied in secondary schools and on a promotional campaign to combat homophobic bullying in order to make schools a more tolerable place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21623/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I take the issue of bullying in schools, in all of its forms, including homophobic bullying very seriously and my Department and I are strongly committed to removing all barriers to full participation in education, including barriers caused by the sexual orientation of students.

The Deputy will be aware that the education of students in both primary and post-primary schools in relation to anti-bullying behaviour is part of the Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) curriculum. SPHE is now a compulsory subject both at primary level and in the junior cycle of post-primary schools.

All recognised primary and second level schools are required to offer Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE) which is an integral part of the SPHE curriculum at primary level and at Junior Cycle second level where it has been made mandatory for all schools. In addition, all schools are required to have an agreed school policy and a suitable Relationships and Sexuality Education programme in place for senior cycle pupils. Comprehensive guidelines for Junior and Senior cycle have also been published and provided to schools by the NCCA to support the RSE aspects of the curriculum. An integrated SPHE programme at senior cycle incorporating RSE is being developed.

The SPHE modules at junior cycle in second level schools deal specifically with Belonging and Integrating, handling conflict constructively, dealing with peer pressure, influences on decision-making, relationships and sexuality in terms of values, reproductive system, tackling myths about sex and pregnancy, personal safety, substance use and the impact of teenage pregnancy. Two of the SPHE modules relate specifically to Relationships and Sexuality and Personal Safety. The aims of these modules include bringing students to an understanding of the physical changes that take place during adolescence and exploring with them procedures for protecting their personal safety along with appropriate responses when their safety is threatened. In third year, an awareness of help agencies is promoted and students' skills for obtaining access to them are developed.

For senior cycle students, all schools are required to have an agreed school policy and a suitable Relationships and Sexuality Education Programme in place. The RSE programme at senior cycle deals further with these issues and, in addition, addresses issues such as pregnancy, contraception, sexually transmitted diseases, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and accepting sexual orientation.

The Department of Education and Science has developed two sets of resource materials that are particularly relevant to this area for use with Transition Year and senior cycle students as part of an SPHE programme. These are BALANCE — Who cares? and Exploring Masculinities. These resources use a variety of materials and strategies to explore and discuss issues of gender equality. Specific attention is paid to addressing both sexual harassment and domestic violence in both resources. Also included in the Exploring Masculinities resources are materials on bullying and child sexual abuse.

The Deputy will also be aware that each school is required to have in place a policy which includes specific measures to deal with bullying behaviour, within the framework of an overall school Code of Behaviour and Discipline. Such a code, developed through consultation with the whole school community and properly implemented, can be the most influential measure in countering bullying behaviour in schools.

My Department has issued guidelines as an aid to schools in devising measures to prevent and deal with instances of bullying behaviour and to increase awareness among school management authorities of their responsibilities in this regard. These guidelines were drawn up following consultation with representatives of school management, teachers and parents, and are sufficiently flexible to allow each school authority to adapt them to suit the particular needs of their school.

The Deputy may also be interested to know that dealing with bullying has also been incorporated in training for principals through the Leadership Development for Schools programme. I have also stressed to the teacher unions the importance of not just having a written policy on bullying but also ensuring a climate in which it is not tolerated in any form and in which children know that if they make a teacher aware of bullying that it will be dealt with.

Responsibility for tackling bullying naturally falls to the level of the individual school as it is at local level that an effective anti-bullying climate must be established. I am, however, anxious to support schools in tackling bullying and it is for that reason that so many supports have been put in place in recent years.