DONEGAL parents are to be offered anti-bullying training sessions under a scheme announced by Education Minister Ruairí Quinn T.D.
The Anti-Bullying Parent Training Programme is being run jointly by the National Parents Council Primary (NPC-P) and the National Parents Council Post Primary (NPC-PP) to support the implementation of the Action Plan on Bullying which called for training and resources for parents and boards of management.
Minister Quinn said he will provide funding of €60,000 for Anti-Bullying Parent Training in 2014.
It comes as schools across Donegal struggle to cope with a rise in cyber-bullying.
“The training sessions are available nationwide and provide supports to parents to enable them to assist their children when issues of bullying arise,” he said.
“Bullying is not a problem schools can or should be left to tackle alone. Parents, families and the wider community have an important role to play in tackling all forms of bullying and in teaching children how to manage relationships, be resilient and have empathy for others.”
Last year, the Department provided funding €60,000 to support the delivery of 105 anti-bullying parent training sessions to 3,279 participants nationwide including sessions here in Donegal.
The Parents Councils have also developed an information leaflet for parents and these can be downloaded from their websites.
Over 90% of parents who attended the training sessions last year said that they felt more confident in supporting their child with a bullying issue following the session. Likewise, over 90% said they felt more confident engaging with their school if a bullying issue arose with their child.
“I would like to thank Áine Lynch, CEO of the NPC-P, and Don Myers, president of the NPC-PP, for their work on this. I really appreciate their teams’ professionalism and commitment to this project.”
“I would also encourage all parents to attend these sessions. Being informed, will empower you to help your child deal with issues of bullying,” said Minister Quinn.
Áine Lynch said: “Parents have a vital role to play regarding issues of bullying that may involve their children from a variety of perspectives. Attending the parent sessions will both support parents to support their children and also to work in partnership with their child’s school to ensure schools are respectful places for all members of the school community.”
Don Myers added: “I am delighted that the Minister has allocated further funding so that NPC-P and NPC-PP can facilitate further training sessions for parents. Feedback to-date from the 2013 training has been extremely positive with 98% of attendees saying that they would recommend this to others and already there is high demand for the 2014 programme. I would like to thank the Minister for his continued commitment to this so important programme and once again for putting faith in NPC-P and NPC-PP to facilitate this training which is a huge endorsement and support for parents.”
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