Guidelines must be reformed

THE salutary lesson to be drawn from the bullying case in which a 10-year-old boy was awarded damages of €10,000 is the urgent need for teachers to be pro-active in tackling this problem.

In some instances, according to the National Parents' Council, teachers have actually picked on vulnerable students, effectively creating a climate where other pupils see bullying as acceptable.

Yet another aspect of this problem was pinpointed yesterday by Education Minister Mary Hanafin when she launched a website teaching children how to be safe on the internet.