Action plan targets bullying in and out of schools

The education community has broadly welcomed the first Department of Education guidelines for 20 years on bullying in schools.

While Education Minister Ruairi Quinn’s action plan also looks at what happens at home and in children’s free time, most of the direct actions relate to schools.

National anti-bullying procedures will be set for the country’s 4,000 schools by the autumn. They will be given a template to help draw up their own policies and record all bullying incidents.