Schoolyard bullying - Turning a blind eye

BULLYING in the schoolyard has long been a cancer at the heart of the Irish education system and it now affects more than 200,000 children.

Yet, according to a leading expert, civil servants and politicians lack the will to tackle this grave problem because they fear the floodgates would open if a redress board was established.

It is appalling that children continue to suffer from bullying, because of a serious lack of accountability at all levels of the education system.

Beginning in today’s Irish Examiner, a two-day series on bullying reveals that the Department of Education is so reluctant to take action that guidelines for national schools have not been upgraded for 15 years. That is unconscionable in a society where children as young as 12 engage in “happy slapping”.

In the face of such physical bullying, teachers lack clear guidelines on how to resolve the problem.

By turning a blind eye to this social malaise, politicians are sending out the wrong message on bullying in school.