Written answers

Tuesday, 6 July 2010

Department of Education and Science

Bullying in Schools

10:00 am

Photo of David StantonDavid Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 655: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills if guidelines on countering bullying behaviour in primary and post-primary schools dated September 1993 are still in force; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29529/10]

Photo of Mary CoughlanMary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Responsibility for tackling bullying falls to the level of the individual school as it is at local level that an effective anti-bullying climate must be established. Section 23 of the Education Welfare Act 2000 requires all schools to have in place a Code of Behaviour. 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.

In accordance with the Education (Welfare) Act 2000, the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) has developed guidelines for schools on Codes of Behaviour. These guidelines were issued to schools in 2008 and state, inter alia, that the Board of Management of a school must have policies to prevent or address bullying and harassment and that schools must make clear in their code of behaviour that bullying is unacceptable. The guidelines further state that as well as making explicit that bullying is prohibited in the school, and having an anti-bullying policy, the code of behaviour should indicate what action the school will take in relation to alleged breaches of the school's bullying policy .

My Department's "Guidelines on Countering Bullying Behaviour in Primary and Post-Primary Schools" were issued in September 1993, 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.

In 2007 my Department published, on its website, policy templates for post-primary schools in five key areas, including anti-bullying. The template documents are not prescriptive, but rather highlight possible approaches and potential material for inclusion in school policies and takes account of more recent legislative and regulatory changes. Reference is also made to issues of contemporary concern such as the need to tackle text bullying, cyber-bullying and homophobic bullying.

The National Behaviour Support Service (NBSS) was established in 2006 in response to the recommendation in "School Matters", the report of the Task Force on Student Behaviour in Second Level Schools. The NBSS is currently working with over 70 Post Primary Schools to promote and support positive student behaviour.

The National Centre for Technology in Education's Webwise Internet Safety initiative includes an integrated educational programme with the following elements:

1. The development of an integrated educational programme in partnership with the SPHE Support Service called - Be Safe Be Webwise, which is delivered in the context of the SPHE module on Personal Safety by the SPHE Second Level Support Service

2. Delivery of Internet Safety Seminars for parents in schools in partnership with the National Parents Council Primary

3. Provision of Internet safety continuing professional development training for teachers

4. The Watch Your Space awareness campaign, which was launched in February 2007, seeks to raise awareness and promote safe, responsible practice by young people when on-line. The campaign has a strong peer-to-peer perspective and centres on an interactive on-line service, www.watchyourspace.ie developed by the NCTE. This site offers practical tips and advice and supports teenagers who use the web. A key feature is the advice given from teenagers to teenagers on how to cope with the fall-out from abuses and misuse of social networking and picture-sharing websites

5. The EU Safer Internet Programme campaign WATCH_YOUR_SPACE – STOP CYBERBULLYING was launched in 2009. This social marketing campaign combined blanket and targeted messages delivered through a wide range of media channels and involving children and young people themselves, to the promotion of effective responses to cyber bullying by young people. In Ireland, the campaign included an on-line source of information and advice for young people, watchyourspace.ie, and the TEENTXT active listening service of the ISPCC

The education of students in both primary and post-primary schools in relation to anti-bullying behaviour is also part of the SPHE curriculum. SPHE is now a compulsory subject both at primary level and in the junior cycle of post-primary schools.

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