Social distancing has stopped students building trust with teachers to report bullying

Many post-primary students report that most bullying is not visible to teachers, taking place "subtly", either in the school, such as on crowded corridors, outside school grounds, or online. File picture: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire

Post-primary school students have said mask-wearing and physical distancing during the Covid-19 pandemic have stopped them building the trust with their teachers needed for them to report bullying.

Furthermore, while cyberbullying is an issue for both primary and post-primary students, ‘relational bullying’, where a person is deliberately isolated or excluded, is a key issue for post-primary students. 

The findings are included in the latest report compiled by the Inspectorate of the Department of Education. 

The report details the findings of student focus groups, held in February and March, to compile students' own views on preventing and tackling bullying. The focus groups took place in a sample of five schools and included input from 100 primary pupils and 120 post-primary students. 

Many post-primary students report that most bullying is not visible to teachers, taking place "subtly", either in the school, such as on crowded corridors, outside school grounds, or online. 

Many post-primary students also said they would be reluctant to report bullying to an adult in their school. In a small number of cases, students accused some of their teachers of stereotyping or being disrespectful to students of colour and Traveller students.

Some Junior Cycle students taking part reported they felt uncomfortable being asked to work with others during the focus groups, as they had not experienced working with others yet in post-primary school. 

Student comments about a lack of trust in teachers to support reporting of bullying were also voiced by Junior Cycle students in particular, the report notes. 

“They explained that the combined impact of mask-wearing requirements and physical distancing during Covid restrictions meant that for many of them they didn’t have a trusting relationship with their teachers. 

"They commented that this situation wouldn’t change overnight, just because Covid restrictions had changed. They felt it would take time for them to develop such trust, and thus, be more inclined to report bullying or other issues worrying them. They highlighted the need to ‘build stronger trust with students so that they feel safe’.”

Students also identified a number of gaps in their SPHE learning about bullying. "They wanted to learn more about the after-effects of bullying on the victim, not just the punitive consequences for the bully. They also wanted to be given more guidance about dealing with situations where banter between friends was straying into a bullying experience for them." 

Overall, primary school students demonstrated good understanding of how to recognise, respond and report cyberbullying, the inspectorate found. "They shared lots of key insights with the inspectors such as their awareness of the need to protect themselves and their personal information and the risks associated with posting online." 

Students identified a number of strategies, including how to screenshot evidence, to block, and to tell a teacher or trusted adult.