Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 April 2012
254 Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which all forms of school bullying continues to be monitored at local and national level; the extent of any new schemes proposed in relation to same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19912/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Education (Welfare) Act 2000, all schools are required to have in place a Code of Behaviour and this code must be drawn up in accordance with the guidelines of the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB). The NEWB guidelines were issued to schools in 2008 and make it clear that each school must have policies to prevent or address bullying and harassment and schools must make clear in their code of behaviour that bullying is unacceptable. The guidelines further state that as well as making explicit that bullying is prohibited in the school, and having an anti-bullying policy, the code of behaviour should indicate what action the school will take in relation to alleged breaches of the school's bullying policy.
Every school therefore must have in place a policy, within the framework of the school's overall code of behaviour, which includes specific measures to deal with bullying behaviour.
My Department has issued Guidelines on Countering Bullying Behaviour as an aid to schools in devising measures to prevent and deal with instances of bullying behaviour. These guidelines were drawn up following consultation with representatives of school management, teachers and parents, and are sufficiently flexible to allow each school authority to adapt them to suit the particular needs of their school.
As a further aid to post-primary schools my Department published in 2007 a template that can be used by post-primary schools in developing an anti-bullying policy.
When a Whole School Evaluation (WSE) is conducted by my Department's Inspectorate, the code of behaviour, including its anti-bullying policy, is reviewed by the inspection team to check that it is in line with the Department's guidelines. Inspectors normally meet with the principal, the board, post-holders, year heads, class teachers, programme coordinators, the pastoral care team, representatives of the students and parents. During these meetings there is a particular emphasis on the quality of student care and support. The inspectors' evaluation is also informed by observations in classroom settings and throughout the school. Where there are weaknesses in a school's policy or implementation of policies clear recommendations for improvement are made and are included in the published report of the inspection.
Revised procedures for WSE in schools have recently been put in place. A new element of the revised WSE process involves the issuing of questionnaires directly to pupils and parents. Children and parents are asked to respond to questions about how the school deals with bullying, discipline in the school and whether or not the school provides a safe environment for children. This enhanced engagement with parents and pupils through questionnaires aims to further support all schools to implement effective measures to counter bullying.
The Deputy may also be aware that I recently announced details of a forum to explore ways to tackle the problem of bullying in schools. This Anti-Bullying Forum is due to take place on the 17 of May 2012 and will bring together a range of experts, support groups and representatives of the schools sector including parents and students.
The objective of the forum will be to explore with all the relevant stakeholders how best to tackle bullying in schools and to consider what changes or updating of existing practices and procedures are required to achieve this having regard to what is feasible to implement in the current financial climate.
Bullying is a problem I take very seriously and I hope that the forum will provide an opportunity to set out a roadmap on how best to tackle all forms of bullying in our schools.
I am also establishing a working group on tackling bullying. The outcomes and recommendations from the Forum will assist the working group in its deliberations.
