To ask the Minister of Education to outline his plans to commission research into bullying in schools.

Mr Givan

Mr Speaker, with your permission, I will answer questions 3 and 6 together. The Addressing Bullying in Schools Act 2016 came into operation on 1 September 2021. The Act has three core parts: it provides a common definition of "bullying"; establishes a new duty for schools to record all incidents of bullying, including their motivation and outcome; and requires boards of governors to take responsibility for the development, implementation, monitoring and periodic review of their schools' anti-bullying policies. Concerns were raised during the public consultation on the legislative proposals that led to the Act that any such data that was held by the Department of Education or the Education Authority would be subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and therefore could potentially allow external organisations to create bullying league tables. The then Education Minister subsequently stated that there were no plans to collect or publish any information in relation to bullying incidents. The Department has therefore not directly collated data from schools in relation to bullying incidents. Following initial information and training offers, the Department established the addressing bullying in schools implementation team (ABSIT) in September 2022. The data is held by ABSIT within EA in its response to referrals. Between September 2022 and March 2024, ABSIT responded to 577 referrals relating to bullying-type behaviour. The team has provided specific support to schools with regard to 185 significant bullying-type cases and delivered training to 147 school leadership teams and bespoke training to 110 school governors. Since its launch in January 2024, level 1 foundation training on the Act has been completed by 3,848 educationalists.

Mr Chambers

Minister, thank you for that answer. Does the Minister anticipate the data being used to develop a universal approach across all schools to tackling bullying, or does he believe that a tailored solution in individual schools is the best way forward?

Mr Givan

We need to make sure that, where there is best practice, we disseminate it. That is something that, of course, we will want to do and facilitate. I have outlined how we have been making efforts to address those issues. Often, schools are best placed, with the right kind of support, which needs to be consistent across Northern Ireland, to resolve those issues. However, where we can identify best practice, it is important that we disseminate that information.

Mr Givan

All forms of bullying are wrong. Bullying in respect of one's sexual orientation is wrong. It is important that schools address that issue alongside other forms of bullying that take place. Of course, my Department will continue, with the Education Authority, to support schools when it comes to addressing bullying behaviour, which is unacceptable in our school system.

Mr Dunne

I thank the Minister for his commitment to tackling bullying. Is there best practice in other jurisdictions that we can learn from, particularly on the ever-increasing rise of cyberbullying, which impacts on children and young people so much more, given that it can take place beyond school opening hours?

Mr Givan

The Department will collect data from other jurisdictions and further research will be carried out on the issue. Where we identify alternative methods that we are not already using to address the issues, we will learn from them. Data on bullying experiences among children and young people has been gathered by Governments in England, Wales and Scotland through a range of health, well-being and crime surveys. However, our understanding is that data on bullying-type behaviour is an issue just to disseminate. The answer is yes. We will carry out further research to identify other international approaches to managing the problem.

Mr McNulty

Minister, in relation to your answer to the previous question, further research will not cut it in addressing bullying in schools, specifically on social media platforms. We know that children are dying because of bullying behaviours on those platforms. What communications have you and your Department had with those companies to outline their responsibilities, given that their platforms are havens for bullies and bullying behaviours, which are having a devastating impact on the children and young people who are on the receiving end?

Mr Givan

It is about actions and further research to make sure that, where the actions that we are taking can be improved, they are improved. It is not an either/or. We are doing far more than just doing research on the issue. I outlined the measures and the impacts that we have already had in trying to support schools. The Member raises an important issue about online social media abuse. Children, in particular, given their sensitive age, are much more vulnerable to that than adults, and it can be devastating for adults as well. It is vital that we support schools as they manage the issues around online communication and social media posts. All of that can be difficult to do. What I can do to support schools I will do. Where we can have research to provide better-informed practices, we will do that to help inform how we address those issues.