Minister launches set of  procedures to tackle bullying in schools

Norma Foley, the minister for education, has launched Bí Cineálta — a set of bullying reporting procedures. Picture: Damien Storan/PA

A national database on bullying is to be established as part of the Department of Education’s new reporting procedures.

The Bí Cineálta (Be Kind) procedures, launched on Wednesday by Norma Foley, the minister for education, state that all issues of bullying that occur in schools must be reported to the board of management.

This will create the basis of the anonymised database that will record the types of bullying and help to inform procedures in the future.

Ms Foley said while most children are content and happy in school, that is not the reality for many students.

“We know that bullying can rob a child or young person of their happiness and satisfaction, and it can cause significant damage to them,” she said.

In establishing the procedures which will apply to primary, post-primary, and special schools, the Inspectorate worked with 170 children and young people and to examine what is happening in schools.

A central element of the plans is to create a ‘tell all’ culture in schools so that students experiencing bullying will feel safe in reporting what they are going through.

The procedures launched on Wednesday state that all issues of bullying that occur in schools must be reported to the board of management.

Following a suggestion from some students, a student-friendly version of the Bí Cineálta policy will be created which will have a central position in the school by being displayed in the reception or classrooms, or included in the school journal.

Younger children, by nature, are more inclined to share but this is something that should be encouraged throughout a student’s schooling years, said Ms Foley.

“Please tell us what is happening. When you share, you lessen the burden,” she said.

The minister, who has over 20 years teaching experience, said the change in culture is long overdue.

“I want to acknowledge that for too long we have not been open enough about this issue within schools,” She said. “We haven’t wanted to have this discussion, I believe, out in the open.”

Cyberbullying a serious issue

Cyberbullying has long been identified as a serious issue among young people but this policy states that schools cannot be responsible for what occurs outside of school and school hours.

Where the online issues spill over into the school day, action will be taken but it may be difficult to define when online incidents become the responsibility of the school. 

Along with cyberbullying, Bí Cineálta aims to address issues of gender identity bullying, racist bullying, sexist bullying, and sexual harassment.

In order to prevent and address these, the procedures involve the entire school community — including special needs assistants, secretaries, and caretakers —and working with parents as key partners.

Each school will undertake an annual review of its policy and principals will provide a verbal update on identified bullying behaviour at every board of management meeting. 

This update is to include the number of bullying incidents and the measures that have been taken to address it.

Where a student has been the victim of bullying and it has been reported, the school is required to check back in with both the student and their parents after a period of 20 school days to see if the bullying has ceased.