Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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268. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of schools that have published their anti-bullying policy to the board of management, in accordance with the action plan on bullying; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29312/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The Action Plan on Bullying, which was published in January 2013, sets out my Department's approach to tackling bullying in schools. These actions focus on support for schools, teacher training, research and awareness raising and aim to ensure that all forms of bullying are addressed.

As part of the implementation of the Action Plan, new National Anti-Bullying Procedures for schools were published in September 2013. 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 are designed to give direction and guidance to school authorities and school personnel in preventing and tackling school-based bullying behaviour amongst its pupils. They include specific requirements in relation to the use of prevention and education strategies and the consistent investigation, follow up and recording of bullying behaviour.

A very important element of the new procedures to help ensure greater transparency for parents and pupils is the requirement for schools to publish their anti-bullying policy on the school's website and to provide it to the parents association. The procedures also include important new oversight arrangements that involve the School Principal reporting regularly to the Board of Management and a requirement for the Board to undertake an annual review of the school's anti-bullying policy and its implementation. Confirmation that the annual review has been completed must be provided to the parents association and published on the school website.

A clear picture of the implementation of the new procedures at school level will become available as part of my Department's inspection work. Where the Inspectorate encounters non-compliance with the requirement to publish a policy in line with the new procedures, relevant findings will be included in published WSE inspection reports.

In addition to requiring schools to publish their policy on the school website, the procedures also require that the school's anti bullying policy must be made available to the school's Parents' Association. In that regard, in any school which has not done this, Parents Associations can raise this issue directly with their school Board of Management.