State agencies to share data to tackle bullying
The step is one of a number of moves to be considered in addition to those being rolled out as part of the Government’s Action Plan on Bullying unveiled yesterday.
From this autumn, all schools will have to follow national procedures by having very specific policies on bullying, and they must ensure every incident is reported and followed up.
Schools’ compliance with the new rules will be monitored by Department of Education inspectors, with support for the changes being favoured over new laws or regulations to deal with the problem.
The comprehensive plan from Education Minister Ruairi Quinn and Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald has a €500,000 budget this year and was welcomed in the education community. It will also see:
*A national anti-bullying website set up;
*A media campaign aimed at young people to tackle cyberbullying;
*Plans to train school boards and parents about the issues.
A key focus is on the role of parents, sports clubs and other non-school settings, as Mr Quinn said bullying is a much wider societal issue. This has been particularly evident in the wake of a number of recent youth suicides linked to the online bullying of teenagers.
“The most important thing is that everyone involved with young people, in education, sports, or youth work, is being involved and taking a role in tackling bullying,” said Irish Second-Level Students’ Union equality officer Mark Caffrey.
Mr Caffrey was a member of the Anti-Bullying Working Group, whose report forms the basis of Mr Quinn’s plan.
In addition to measures announced yesterday, greater sharing of information between State agencies providing services to schools will be considered. This could help identify issues that need to be addressed at school level and help ensure resources to support children are used to best effect.
The Department of Children and Youth Affairs has also been urged to give schools and groups working with children more detailed guidance on its definition of serious bullying in the Children First guidelines and on when referrals should be made to the HSE.
The handling of bullying cases will remain a matter for each school, with no role for the Department of Education where parents are unhappy with the outcome, but it is reviewing the procedures for complaints against schools.
Mr Quinn played down the fact that equality legislation still allows religious run-schools to sack a teacher for being gay, despite the emphasis on homophobic bullying in his plan.
