Cork principal says new bullying plan is ‘positive move’, but raises concern over potential work burden

THE principal of a Cork city school has said any measures that can be taken to tackle bullying in school would be a “positive move”.

Coláiste Éamann Rís principal Aaron Wolfe was commenting on new measures to help tackle bullying in schools that will see teachers report all alleged incidents and how they have been dealt with.

Guidelines from the Department of Education are expected to be announced shortly regarding a recommendation for data collection on bullying in Education Minister Norma Foley’s action plan on tackling the issue.

The new measures were written following recommendations of the Oireachtas joint committee’s comprehensive School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health report in 2021.

The Cineáltas (kindness) action plan identifies “the need for reporting of all alleged bullying incidents, including details of the type of bullying behaviour, and the approach to addressing it”.

It explains that this data collection on frequency and types of bullying, as well as actions taken to counteract it and the effects of these actions, will be used to create a database on bullying, and to release yearly national reports about bullying trends, which can be used to inform further policy.

The Cineáltas plan explains: “The Department of Education will examine how schools can record alleged incidents of bullying behaviour in an anonymised manner, which will include information on the nature of the behaviour, the approach taken to address the behaviour, and the outcome.

“Schools will regularly review their records of alleged incidents of bullying behaviour to discern emerging trends, to identify key learning, and to consider what measures could be taken to prevent reoccurrence.

“The Department of Education will progress the development of a national database to facilitate data being collated in an anonymised manner to facilitate the development of an annual national report on bullying in schools.”

'A positive move'

Mr Wolfe told The Echo: “Any measures to help tackle bullying is a positive move.”

However, he raised concerns around the extra paperwork it would provide for teachers, who are already struggling with the burden of extra work outside of their hours with students.

“We are waiting on the ASTI [Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland] to ensure that additional administration staff will be made available to schools, there is a need for an increase in middle management,” said Mr Wolfe.

He said that compulsory reports on bullying feeding into a national government report was a good idea, “but

for it to run effectively, we need the staff”.

Emerging trends

Cyberbullying and increasing diversity in schools were highlighted as major emerging trends since the anti-bullying procedures for primary and post-primary schools were published in 2013 in the Department of Education report.

“The population of Ireland has continued to grow and is more diverse, this has resulted in a greater awareness of the cohesive role of education in society, with many schools evolving to cater for more diversity among their students,” reads the Cineáltas action plan.

“Alongside these changes in population, the use of technology and social media has become increasingly common among children and young people and their families.

“Long before the start of the covid-19 pandemic, it was clear that the online and offline lives of children and young people and their families were increasingly intertwined, and that this brings with it new challenges to be addressed.”

Cyberbullying

According to the action plan, 11% of all children said that they had experienced cyberbullying in the past 12 months, with 13- to 14-year-olds reporting the highest incidence rates, and the data suggesting that girls are more likely than boys to be bullied and to experience online safety issues.

Race, nationality, and skin colour is the second-most common category of reasons for being bullied, the report claims, also citing BeLonG To Youth Services, who surveyed 1,208 LGBT+ students, 76% of whom indicated that they “feel unsafe in school”.

Mr Wolfe also questioned what incidents would fall under the scope of instances needing to be reported by teachers and other school staff members, saying: “Bullying can’t remain just the responsibility of schools, it’s happening increasingly more online.

“Whereas in past, children could go home and get some respite. Now the bully can follow you everywhere, so it’s up to parents to have that conversation with their children.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Education told The Echo: “Work is well under way to review and update the 2013 anti-bullying procedures for primary and post-primary schools.

“The updated procedures are due to be published in the coming months with [continuing professional development]/training being developed for all school staff, board of management members, and parents.

“The procedures are being updated to take account of gender-identity bullying, cyber bullying, racist bullying, sexist bullying, and sexual harassment.

“The procedures will include guidance on recording alleged incidents of bullying behaviour, ensure appropriate oversight at school level, and will ensure that a school’s anti-bullying policy is developed and reviewed in consultation with the whole school community.”