Positive school spirit ‘is key to initiative success’

The importance of creating a positive spirit in schools is key to the success of new anti-bullying procedures, a parents’ leader has said.

The National Parents’ Council-Primary was one of a number of groups to welcome the Department of Education’s first revision of guidelines on bullying for two decades.

“There’s a lot in the procedures that relates to creating a sense of respect within the school community and parents are crucial parts of that by what they model at home and how they reinforce a school’s policy,” said chief executive Áine Lynch.

Schools will be required to include homophobic and racist bullying in policies. “It is evident that a high level of commitment to the eradication of homophobic bullying now exists, and these new procedures mark the most significant breakthrough in this work to date,” said Sandra Irwin-Gowran of the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network.

Clive Byrne of the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals, said schools should follow standardised approaches to dealing with bullying in and out of school.

However, there were warnings over class sizes and staffing cuts. “Irish classes are the second largest in the EU which makes it very difficult to spot bullying, which is secretive by nature,” said Irish National Teachers’ Organisation general secretary Sheila Nunan.

The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland said mandatory recording and reporting of incidents will be helpful but the loss of year head posts and guaranteed guidance counselling hours impact directly on schools’ ability to provide a supportive environment.

Education and Training Boards Ireland said the procedures mark a significant step towards addressing an issue that blights so many people’s lives, but staff and school boards need training to help combat bullying.