One-in-four 10-year-olds bullied once a month
More than one in 10 of the children experience bullying on a weekly basis and the problem is particularly prevalent in disadvantaged schools.
Nonetheless, a report by the Educational Research Centre, which looked at the experiences and performance of pupils as well as the opinions of parents and teachers, found that bullying is actually less frequent in Irish classrooms than in most other countries, with two-thirds of Irish pupils almost never experiencing the problem at school. That means Ireland ranked best among our nearest comparison countries.
The authors of the report said the lower level of bullying here, in conjunction with principals’ ratings of school safety and discipline, suggests Irish schools provide a safe environment for pupils, safer than in most other countries.
Where bullying did occur, ERC found that verbal assaults were the most common form reported, followed by physical bullying and bullying by exclusion. Almost a quarter (24%) of pupils were made fun of or called names at school a few times a year, while 11% experienced such bullying at least once a week. Furthermore, 8% of Irish pupils reported being left out of games or activities at least weekly, and 8% reported being hit or hurt by another pupil on a weekly basis. Overall, 14% of boys were bullied almost weekly, compared to 10% of girls.
The category of pupil most likely to experience the treatment were boys who sometimes or never spoke English at home.
Almost one in five ‘English as an additional language’ (EAL) pupils were bullied about weekly, compared to one in ten of other children. Half of EAL pupils had been made fun of or called names, and had been left out of games at least a few times in the school year, while just over one-quarter had been made to do things they didn’t want to by other students.
The report found they were twice as likely to experience bullying if they go to schools in the Deis (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) programme: “The findings suggest that teachers of EAL pupils, and teachers in Deis urban schools in particular, may need additional support to tackle bullying in their classrooms.”
RELATED STORIES:
PUPILS TWICE AS LIKELY TO DISLIKE BEING IN SCHOOL
TEACHERS FACE DAILY STRUGGLE WITH SLEEPY HUNGRY KIDS
FULL REPORT HERE
