AQW 44479/22-27

Mrs Michelle Guy
Alliance Party
Lagan Valley

Tabled Date: 21/04/2026
Answered On Date: 05/05/2026
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education to detail when anonymised regional data on incidents of bullying-type behaviour in schools will be published.

Answer:

I welcome the opportunity that the provision of comprehensive, anonymised regional data on bullyingtype incidents in schools would provide the Department and Education Authority (EA) with, in terms of helping to inform and strengthen our collective response to bullyingtype behaviour and safeguarding the well-being of every pupil.

Against the background, Departmental officials are working with the EA’s Education Information Solutions (EdIS) Programme Team and the Addressing Bullying in Schools Implementation Team (ABIST) to explore the provision of anonymised regional data on bullyingtype incidents recorded through the new Bromcom School Management System. The EA’s EdIS team has indicated that implementation of this measure would require significant development work, crossteam support and training, and could not be delivered until the full rollout of Bromcom across all schools is complete.

Bromcom implementation began with pilot schools in March 2026 and is scheduled for completion by March 2027; development to enable anonymised regional reporting cannot progress until after this full rollout is completed. It is recognised that the work on anonymised regional reporting will require further resource to support development and implementation and to promote consistent use of Bromcom by schools to record bullyingtype incidents. My officials will continue to engage with ABSIT and the EdIS team to support the progression of this work.