Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

203. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which ongoing efforts continue to be made to combat school bullying; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28677/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Action Plan on Bullying, which was published in January 2013, sets out my Department's approach to tackling bullying and promoting an anti-bullying culture in schools. It recommended actions that focus on support for schools, teacher training, research and awareness raising and aim to ensure that all forms of bullying are addressed. Implementation of the actions is ongoing and good progress has been made across all areas of the plan.

New National Anti-Bullying Procedures for schools, which were published in September 2013, are currently being implemented by all 4,000 primary and post primary schools in the country. Training materials for parents, teachers and Boards of Management are also being developed and rolled out.

A new national anti-bullying website, www.tacklebullying.ie,was launched in November 2015 as a single point of information and support for young people, parents and teachers affected by bullying. The website provides advice on how to recognise and deal with bullying behaviour and includes a specific section on cyberbullying.

“Being LGBT in School” A Resource for Post-Primary Schools to Prevent homophobic and Transphobic Bullying and Support LGBT Students was launched in January 2016. The resource, which was developed by the Gay and Lesbian Network Equality (GLEN) as part of the implementation of the Action Plan on Bullying, will support schools in the implementation of the Department’s Anti-Bullying Procedures.

My Department supports a number of anti-bullying initiatives including the Europe-wide Safer-Internet day and the Stand Up! Against Homophobic and Transphobic bullying campaign, organised by BeLongTo. Funding is also provided to the internet safety initiative, Webwise, which has launched the "UP2US" and "My Selfie and the wider world" resources to help to tackle cyberbullying.

In addition, two pieces of research recommended in the Plan have been published. "The Prevalence and Impact of Bullying Linked to Social Media on the Mental Health and Suicidal Behaviour Among Young People", which was commissioned by the Department of Education and Skills and the HSE National Office for Suicide Prevention, was published in May 2014. "Preventing school bullying of children with Special Educational Needs or Disability", was published by the National Disability Authority in May 2015.

As outlined in the Action Plan for Education 2016-2019, my Department is committed to continuing implementation of the Anti-Bullying Action Plan through continued support for the development of anti-bullying training materials and awareness-raising initiatives.