Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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77. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will outline the procedures for the development and implementation of new policies and materials relating to primary and post-primary education. [32960/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I understand that this question relates to my department's work to prevent and address bullying behaviour.

Cineáltas: Action Plan on Bullying was launched on 1st December 2022. Cineáltas is my department’s whole-education approach to preventing and addressing bullying in schools.

Cineáltas is dedicated to the prevention and addressing of bullying, cyber bullying, racist bullying, gender identity bullying and sexual harassment, among other areas, in schools.

It is centred on a child rights-based approach and provides a collective vision and clear roadmap for how the whole education community and society can work together to prevent and address bullying behaviour in our schools.

Cineáltas incorporates each of the nine components of UNESCO’s Whole Education Approach to prevent and address bullying behaviour. It is rooted in four key principles: prevention, support, oversight and community.

An implementation plan for Cineáltas was published on 10 April 2023 and commits to implementing each of the 61 actions contained in Cineáltas within a five-year period. An Implementation and Evaluation Group, chaired by the Secretary General of my department, has been established to oversee implementation of the actions. Implementation of the actions is well advanced and the Cineáltas implementation report for 2023 is due to be published shortly.

One of the more significant actions under Cineáltas was to update the 2013 Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools. This action has been completed with the publication on 19 June 2024 of the Bí Cineálta: Procedures to Prevent and Address Bullying Behaviour for Primary and Post-Primary Schools.

A working group comprising representatives from the Department of Education and Youth, teacher unions, school management bodies, student representatives and parent representatives was established in 2022 to review the 2013 Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools.

These updated procedures were developed in collaboration with the education partners and are heavily informed by the views of children and young people, parents, school staff, Board of Management members and the wider education community.

The Bí Cineálta procedures are centred on a child rights-based approach and support a partnership approach where all members of the school community work together to prevent and address bullying behaviour.

The procedures have been updated to take account of gender identity bullying, cyberbullying, racist bullying, sexist bullying, and sexual harassment. They support schools to develop clear strategies to prevent and address these bullying behaviours.

Circular 0055/2024 was published in August 2024 and provides school management authorities with further information on the updated Bí Cineálta procedures.

Implementation of the procedures is being supported by a suite of professional learning resources and information sessions for school staff, Board of Management members and parents.

Information seminars on the updated procedures were held throughout October 2024 which were open to school leaders from every school. From November 2024, Oide offered targeted in-person professional learning to two staff members from each school in the country, one of which must have been a school leader.

Furthermore, all schools could avail of a half-day closure in the current school year in order to engage with all school staff on the requirements of the updated anti-bullying procedures.

The requirements of the procedures will come into effect from the beginning of the 2025/2026 school year.