THE MINISTER FOR Education is to make €40,000 available in order to hold anti-bullying training sessions for parents.

Up to 70 of the classes will be carried out using the funding, in course delivered by the National Parents Council Primary and the National Parents Council Post Primary.

The initiative has been developed to support the implementation of the Action Plan on Bullying which called for training and resources for parents and boards of management.

“Parents play a key role in supporting their children and the local school and this is investment in parents will allow them to fulfil that role in a more informed way. We urge all parents in Primary and Post-Primary schools to attend the training and support their children and schools in tackling bullying behaviours,” she said.

Ruairí Quinn added that bullying needed to be tackled at all levels.

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.”

Read: Cyberbullying and homophobic bullying policies now mandatory for schools
Read: Time to act on bullying before tragedy hits primary schools, says expert