AQW 17559/22-27

Mrs Michelle Guy
Alliance Party
Lagan Valley

Tabled Date: 04/11/2024
Answered On Date: 08/11/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education for his assessment of the need to re-establish the Northern Ireland Anti-Bullying Forum.

Answer:

The Addressing Bullying in Schools Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 came into effect in September 2021. The Department determined that more specific support should be provided to schools and educational settings to support implementation of the Act and the Addressing Bullying in Schools Implementation Team (ABSIT) was therefore established within the Education Authority (EA) in September 2022.

Given that some of the Northern Ireland Anti-Bullying Forum’s (NIABF) activities duplicated the work of the EA’s Primary and Post Primary Behaviour Support and Provisions, including that of ABSIT, the Department decided to cease funding to NIABF from 31 March 2023 to ensure that there was no double funding.