Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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153. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to outline the extent to which her Department continues to monitor the incidents of school bullying; if she is conscious of the fact that a considerable amount of school bullying remains unreported due to fear on the part of the victims; if she will put in place structures to facilitate early identification and intervention with a view to minimising the incidents and protecting children of all ages who are subject to this behaviour; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3346/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The Deputy will be aware that my Department published new anti-bullying procedures for all primary and post primary schools at the beginning of the 2013/14 school year. These procedures are designed to give direction and guidance to school authorities and school personnel in preventing and tackling school-based bullying behaviour amongst its pupils. All Boards of Management are required to adopt and implement an anti-bullying policy that fully complies with the requirements of the procedures. A template anti-bullying policy which must be used by all schools for this purpose is included in the procedures.

The procedures outline key principles of best practice for both preventing and tackling bullying and require all schools to commit to these principles in their anti-bullying policy. In particular, they emphasise that a cornerstone in the prevention of bullying is a positive school culture. In that regard, the procedures set out the need for schools to encourage and strengthen open dialogue between all school staff and pupils and to ensure that they provide appropriate opportunities for pupils to raise their concerns in an environment that is comfortable for the pupil.

The procedures also recognise the importance of good supervision and monitoring systems to prevent bullying and facilitate early intervention. The school's anti-bullying policy must explicitly confirm that appropriate supervision and monitoring policies and practices are in place to both prevent and deal with bullying behaviour.

In relation to reporting bullying behaviour, the procedures make clear that a pupil or parent may bring a bullying concern to any teacher in the school and individual teachers must take appropriate measures regarding reports of bullying behaviour in accordance with the school's anti-bullying policy. The procedures require that all reports, including anonymous reports of bullying must be investigated and dealt with and that it should be made clear to all pupils that when they report incidents of bullying they are not considered to be telling tales but are behaving responsibly.

The procedures include specific requirements in relation to the consistent investigation, follow up and recording of bullying behaviour amongst pupils. There is a requirement in the procedures for the school Principal to report regularly to the Board of Management in relation to the overall number of bullying cases and provide confirmation that they are being dealt with in accordance with the anti-bullying procedures.

The Board is also required, under the procedures, to undertake an annual review of the school's anti-bullying policy and its implementation by the school. Written confirmation that the review has been completed must be made available to the Parents' Association and published on the school website. There is no requirement for reporting incidents of bullying centrally to my Department.

Arising from commitments made in the Action Plan on Bullying, my Department's Inspectorate is placing a stronger focus on the actions schools take to create a positive school culture and to prevent and tackle bullying. For example, parent and student questionnaires issued as part of whole school evaluations, include, since January 2014, additional questions to get a clearer picture of how the school deals with bullying. Furthermore, the Inspectorate's plan for 2015 provides for collaborative research to be conducted in a sample of primary and post-primary on how schools provide for pupils' well-being. This will culminate in a research report which will highlight best practice.