To ask the Minister of Education to detail (i) the guidance given by her Department to schools in the formation of school policies such as bullying, incident reporting forms and actions taken; and (ii) the degree of autonomy individual schools have in the creation of school policies.

Under Articles 3-6 of The Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1998, all schools have a statutory responsibility within their scheme of management for developing their own policies to promote good behaviour and discipline for pupils attending the school

The Department has provided guidance in the form of ‘Promoting and Sustaining Good Behaviour: A Discipline Strategy for Schools’ and ‘Pastoral Care in Schools: Promoting Positive Behaviour’. These documents are available on the Department’s website at:

Promoting Good Behaviour - A Discipline Strategy for Schools

Pastoral Care In Schools - Promoting Positive Behaviour

Specifically in relation to bullying, statutory guidance to support implementation of the Addressing Bullying in Schools Act (the Act) is available on the Department’s website at Addressing Bullying in Schools Act - Statutory Guidance

The Education Authority (EA) has also provided training and online resources, including a sample policy framework for schools and their Boards of Governors on which to base their own anti-bullying policy. These can be found at:

Addressing Bullying in Schools Act 2016 - Education Authority Guidance

A bullying incident recording system has been developed on C2k, which includes a Bullying Concern Assessment Form (BCAF) which allows schools to record details of bullying incidents and the actions they have taken to address them. Guidance documents are also available on the C2k Exchange.

The content of school policies is a matter for the Principal and Board of Governors but a school must consider any guidance provided by the Department, the EA or the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) when drawing up policies.

From 1 September 2021, the Act places a statutory duty on Boards of Governors to determine the detailed measures to be taken by the school to prevent bullying; ensure these are properly implemented; and are kept under periodic review.