Lagan Valley MLA, Michelle Guy has said much more needs to be done to reduce bullying amongst children and young people, with a shift in emphasis needed from reactive to preventative.

She was speaking after hosting a policy meeting with organisations and experts involved in anti-bullying work.

Mrs Guy said: “From listening and engaging with experts in anti-bullying work, it is clear that while we have the Addressing Bullying in Schools Act, which is still relatively new, the focus is responding to bullying incidents, more work is needed on preventative actions, part of which is to ensure schools are compliant with their statutory duties under the legislation.

“Progress is being made, but we can't be complacent and risk falling behind other parts of these islands in terms of the steps we are taking to reduce incidents of bullying amongst children and young people.

Lagan Valley MLA Michelle Guy has said more needs to be done to tackle bullying in schools. Pic credit: Alliance

placeholder image — Lagan Valley MLA Michelle Guy has said more needs to be done to tackle bullying in schools. Pic credit: Alliance

“An example of what needs to happen is the Department needs to be collecting data recorded by schools to get an insight into the scale of the problem and analyse trends. This can be used to inform interventions to support schools and other settings.

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“We also don’t have a NI wide anti-bullying programme, which is designed for primary and post primary schools and takes a whole school community approach to tacking bullying and promoting online safety.

“We can never lose sight of the fact that bullying can be a devastating experience to go through; causing serious, long-term effects on a young person's mental, physical and emotional wellbeing.

“I will continue to work alongside the young people, families, schools, youth clubs, the EA, organisations and experts to ensure more action is taken.”