420. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Education and Youth the measures her Department has put in place to evaluate the effectiveness of the Bí Cineálta anti-bullying policy framework; whether data is being collected for this purpose; and if so, if she will outline the data being collected, and any plans to publish the results. [49827/26]

421. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Education and Youth when the next formal review of the Bí Cineálte policy framework is scheduled; and whether submissions from students, parents, schools and representative organisations will be accepted as part of that review. [49828/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 420 and 421 together.

Cineáltas: Action Plan on Bullying was published on 1st December 2022. Cineáltas is my department’s whole-education approach to preventing and addressing bullying behaviour in schools.

Cineáltas is dedicated to the prevention and addressing of bullying behaviour including cyber bullying, racist bullying, gender identity bullying and sexual harassment, among other areas, in schools. It is centred on a child rights-based approach and provides a collective vision and clear roadmap for how the whole education community and society can work together to prevent and address bullying behaviour in our schools.

The effectiveness of the action plan is being assessed from a number of different perspectives.

My department has established a Cineáltas Implementation and Evaluation Group, which is chaired at Assistant Secretary General level. The membership of this group contains high-level representation from the relevant action areas in Cineáltas. This ensures that accountability is maintained for each of the 61 actions in Cineáltas.

This group is also responsible for the publication of annual reports, which chart the progress of Cineáltas.

The reports also contain feedback on the implementation of Cineáltas and measures to prevent and address bullying behaviour, from children and young people, parents, school staff and education stakeholders.

The first implementation report, covering work during 2023 was published in July 2025, with the second report covering the period to December 2024 published in January 2026.

As of 31 December 2024, 20 of the 61 individual actions were fully implemented. Each of the 31 remaining actions were in progress. 17 of these are ongoing actions which will continue to be progressed through the lifetime of Cineáltas.

The third Implementation report, which provides an update on the implementation of Cineáltas during 2025, will be published in the coming weeks. Further reports will be published in 2027 and 2028.

As part of Cineáltas, my department’s Inspectorate also produces annual reports entitled Perspectives on Bullying Behaviour. The first Inspectorate report, Perspectives on Bullying Behaviour (2023) was published in 2024. That report drew on survey responses from over 2,300 children and young people, 3,300 parents, 800 teachers and 64 principals across 106 schools.

This second Inspectorate report, Perspectives on Bullying Behaviour (2024), was published as part of the Inspectorate’s annual report was informed by data that was gathered through an online survey that was conducted during Anti-Bullying Week 2024. Responses were gathered from 4,818 children and young people, 5,155 parents and 1,336 principals and teachers.

Perspectives on Bullying Behaviour (2025) was published in April 2026. A total of over 3,900 children and young people responded to an online survey, representing primary schools, post-primary schools and a small number of special schools. Respondents included fifth and sixth class children in primary schools and young people across all year groups in post-primary schools. The survey was augmented by focus groups drawn from primary, post-primary and special school settings, including both

English-medium and Irish-medium schools. Participating schools represented DEIS and non-DEIS contexts, urban and rural settings, and a range of patronage types.

Further Inspectorate reports are due to be published in 2027 and 2028.

Another action under Cineáltas is to 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. Officials in my department are currently working with the education partners to progress this action, and a literature review on international methods of reporting and recording of bullying instances in schools has recently been completed and will be published in the coming weeks.

At school level, the Bí Cineálta procedures to prevent and address bullying behaviour for primary and post-primary schools have been implemented in all schools since the beginning of the 2025/2026 school year.

The procedures provide for increased oversight and school principals must provide a report to the school’s Board of Management each month in relation to bullying incidences. The purpose of the update is to inform discussion at the board of management meeting in relation to trends and whether additional support is needed for school staff and students. It is expected that any serious incidents will be dealt with quickly and the board can decide if the school’s Bí Cineálta policy needs to be reviewed in advance of its annual review date. The school community must be consulted as part of a review of the school’s policy.

My department’s Inspectorate is responsible for monitoring schools’ compliance with the Bí Cineálta procedures. The Inspectorate conducts checks in schools related to various aspects of the schools' anti-bullying procedures as part of incidental inspections, subject inspections and programme evaluations. Whole School Evaluations (WSE), Evaluation of Action Planning for Improvement in DEIS schools and Evaluation of Action Planning for Improvement in DEIS Schools, and evaluations of schools in Special Care Units and Detention Centres which are more in-depth and whole school in nature also include more extensive checks.

The Inspectorate also carries out bespoke Promotion of Wellbeing in Schools Evaluations which were developed as part of Cineáltas. During a Promotion of Wellbeing in Schools Evaluation, the inspectors evaluate and report under the following areas of enquiry:

• The quality of the school’s work to prevent and address bullying behaviour

• The quality of the school’s work to develop and embed a culture that promotes wellbeing

• The quality of the school’s work to implement a curriculum that promotes wellbeing

• The quality of the school’s work to develop policies and plans that promote wellbeing

• The quality of the school’s work to promote wellbeing through relationships and partnerships

A formal review of Cineáltas has not been scheduled at this time.