Bullying remains one of the most serious and persistent threats to children and young people’s mental health, safety, and wellbeing. Despite its well-documented impact, responses to bullying across schools in Northern Ireland remain inconsistent, often ineffective, and too frequently dependent on individual school discretion rather than enforceable standards.

Bullying is not a normal part of growing up. When it is minimised, dismissed, or treated as a behavioural issue rather than a safeguarding concern, children are left vulnerable and unsupported.

This petition calls on the Department of Education to introduce a mandatory, nationally consistent anti-bullying framework for all schools in Northern Ireland, recognising bullying, including online and cyberbullying, as a safeguarding issue that requires clear accountability, education, and intervention.

We call for the following measures to be implemented across all schools:

1. A Statutory Anti-Bullying Framework

A clear, standardised definition of bullying, including persistent online harassment, exclusion, and targeted abuse

Mandatory procedures for reporting, investigating, and responding to bullying

Clear expectations for schools to document incidents and actions taken

Consistent consequences for sustained bullying behaviour, alongside restorative approaches where appropriate

2. Recognition of Bullying as a Safeguarding Responsibility

Explicit guidance that bullying impacting a child’s mental health, safety, or ability to attend school must be addressed, regardless of whether it occurs online or outside school hours

An end to the practice of dismissing online bullying as “outside school responsibility” when its effects are carried into the school environment

3. Mandatory, Age-Appropriate Education

Curriculum-based education on bullying, online harm, and digital responsibility

Teaching children about empathy, accountability, bystander responsibility, and the real-world impact of harassment

Education on how and where to seek help safely and confidentially

4. Trauma-Informed and Mental-Health-Aware Responses

Training for school staff in trauma-informed practice and early warning signs

Clear pathways for mental health support when bullying is identified

A focus on prevention and early intervention, rather than crisis response

Why This Matters

Bullying does not stop at the school gate. In a digital world, it can follow children into their homes, onto their phones, and into every aspect of their lives. Without consistent standards, too many children are left feeling unheard, unsafe, and unsupported.

A child’s right to education must include the right to safety, dignity, and wellbeing.

We urge the Department of Education to take decisive action to protect children and young people across Northern Ireland by introducing a robust, enforceable, and compassionate anti-bullying framework that places safeguarding at its core.