Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 30 Jan 2002

Vol. 547 No. 1

Written Answers. - Bullying Behaviour.

Eamon Gilmore

Ceist:

1089 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Education and Science the strategy being pursued by the Government to address the problem of children being bullied by other children; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2488/02]

Minister for Education and Science (Dr. Woods)

This Government takes the issue of bullying very seriously and is addressing the issue on a number of fronts. The national children's strategy "Our Children, Their Lives" which was launched in November 2000, is a major Government initiative to improve the quality of all children's lives. It is a 10-year plan, which covers a wide number of areas relating to children's well-being. The Minister of State with responsibility for children, Deputy Mary Hanafin, has responsibility for overseeing implementation of the strategy and she will report to the Cabinet Committee on Children, which was formed in 2000, on progress being made. The National Children's Office will co-ordinate the implementation of the strategy, which will need the co-operation and assistance of the statutory and non-statutory sectors, the general public and children themselves.

The national children's strategy has three national goals as follows: National goal 1 – children will have a voice in matters which affect them and their views will be given due weight in accordance with their age and maturity. A key proposal under this goal is to give children a voice at local level in education, health, local government and community organisations and at national level through the Dáil na nÓg. This will allow children to discuss the issue of bullying and to contribute to strategies for its prevention. This goal also provides for the establishment of an Ombudsman for Children, whose functions will be to promote the welfare and rights of children, to investigate complaints from children on issues that affect them and to consult with children on issues of importance to them. This will allow children to raise the issue of bullying with the Ombudsman for Children.

National goal 2 – children's lives will be better understood; their lives will benefit from evaluation, research and information on their needs, rights and the effectiveness of services. A wide range of research on children's issues will be carried out and published under this goal and this may include research on bullying.

National goal 3 – children will receive quality supports and services to promote all aspects of their development. There are 14 objectives and 117 measures under this goal divided into three groupings: (i) all children have a basic range of needs; (ii) some children have additional needs; (iii) all children need the support of the family and community. Fulfilling these objectives will have a positive effect on reducing the instances of bullying, by improving the lives of children who are perpetrating the bullying and also assisting the victims of bullying. In particular the objective "Children will benefit from and contribute to vibrant local communities" will provide community support for children and families which will help them to overcome difficult family and social circumstances, which in turn should reduce the instances of bullying. The objective "Children will benefit from a range of educational opportunities and experiences which reflect the diversity of need" is being implemented in the main by the Department of Education and Science which has specific strategies in relation to bullying in schools.

Individual school management authorities are responsible for implementing effective policies to counter bullying in schools. In 1993 my Department issued "Guidelines on Countering Bullying Behaviour" to all primary and post-primary schools. The purpose of the guidelines was to assist schools in devising school based measures to prevent and deal with instances of bullying behaviour and to increase awareness of the problem among school management authorities, staff, pupils and parents. A further circular in 1994 reminded school authorities of their responsibility in formulating a written code of behaviour and discipline, which should include specific measures to counter bullying behaviour.

The report on discipline, commissioned by my Department and completed by Dr. Maeve Martin, deals comprehensively with the issue of discipline in schools, and sets out models of best practice in this area. A copy of the report has been made available to all schools. Furthermore, where staff within my Department receive telephone calls regarding instances of bullying, advice and assistance is offered by staff to the callers. In addition, my Department will examine specific complaints regarding alleged instances of bullying behaviour, but only after every effort has been made at school level to resolve the matter. The National Educational Psychological Service is also available as a support service to schools in relation to individual students who encounter difficulties.