54 HEALTH MATTERS bullying


INITIATIVE TACKLES BULLYING IN SCHOOLS


The case of an Irish student found dead after allegedly suffering months of bullying at an American High School has once again highlighted the problem. Ann Flynn, Education Officer, writes about the Cool School Anti-Bullying Programme designed to tackle school bullying.


he recent tragic death of an Irish teenager in the US has focused attention on the menace of bullying in our schools. News reports suggest that the teenager was a victim of what is referred to in the literature on bullying as ‘relational aggression’ from her peer group. This form of bullying is as common in Ireland as it is in the US or any other country. The questions raised by the case and the comments made about the school system in the US apply here as much as there. What are Irish schools doing to prevent such tragedies or to deal with the perpetrators? Relational bullying refers to the manipulation of friendships and friendship groups in order to exclude and intimidate previous friends from a group. Much of this type of bullying was laid at the door of the girls. However, as more research was done it became clear that boys also engage in relational bullying. While the effects of such behaviour are more serious for girls because of the girls’ greater need for intimacy in friendships, boys who are bullied in this way also suffer. Some of the effects of relational bullying mimic other forms of bullying, for example anxiety, loneliness, humiliation and shame. The social alienation involved in relational bullying and the social exclusion from the peer group, along with the slander and defamation of reputation by malicious gossip, causes young people to be under particular psychological distress. The first systematic intervention to have been developed in Ireland started in 1997 in the then north Eastern Health Board. dr maria lawlor, Consultant Child Psychiatrist, became aware of the need for a programme to deal with bullying as a


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direct result of her clinical experience with young people. She found that a significant number of the teenagers attending the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service were being bullied in secondary schools across the region. These students reported that they were afraid to report the bullying for fear of making things worse. They had little or no faith in the teachers’ ability or willingness to deal with the issue in schools


of Education and Science, the existing research was combed for ideas on what worked in other countries and what was possible. It was clear that a whole-school approach was required to make any progress. This involved training school staff, parents and students about the various aspects of bullying.


“relational bullying refers to the manipulation of friendships and friendship groups in order to exclude and intimidate previous friends from a group.”


and the vast majority of them suffered in silence. It was clear that a systematic approach was needed to improve matters. Dr Lawlor set about establishing a multi-disciplinary team with the initial aim of finding out what was best practice in other countries. With the support of Principal Social worker, Bernie Henry’ Research Psychologist, dr deborah james’ Group Therapist, Niamh Murphy’ and two teachers, Pat Courtney and Ann Flynn, both seconded from the Department


COOL SCHOOL PROGRAMME Schools were keen to accept the training because the problem of bullying was worsening year by year and teachers found it difficult to deal with. Within two years of the Cool School Programme being offered to schools in counties Louth, Meath, Cavan and monaghan, over 90 per cent of schools had accepted a full day’s in-service training of their staff. Parent awareness training was made available and many schools in the North East organised an awareness-raising evening for their parents. A curriculum was developed for students and teachers were given training in the delivery of the curriculum.


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