New anti-bullying rules announced by Department of Education
Cyber-bullying, homophobic and racist bullying all form part of the Department of Education's new anti-bullying measures.
All primary and secondary schools will have to adopt an anti-bullying policy by no later than the end of term next Summer.
Teachers will be responsible for recording bullying incidents and, where necessary, contacting the parents of the pupils involved.
The Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children has welcomed the measures.
"Online bullying is very prevalent and it's certainly something we would like to address and it's been mentioned within the procedures by the Department of Education," said Andrew Jackson, national anti-bullying co-ordinator with the ISPCC.
"I think that the schools do have an element to play in this because even though it may happen outside the school grounds, its impact can still be felt within those school surroundings and it's something that will obviously impact then on the child's academic abilities, their socialisation - so schools definitely have a role to play."
