At Powerstown Educate Together National School, kindness, equality, inclusion and respect are at the heart of our school community. We are committed to creating a safe, welcoming and supportive environment where every child feels valued, listened to and respected, and experiences a genuine sense of belonging.
Our Bí Cineálta Policy to Prevent and Address Bullying Behaviour sets out how we work together as a school community to prevent bullying behaviour, respond when concerns arise and support the children involved.
Our Bí Cineálta Policy
The Board of Management of Powerstown ETNS has adopted our Bí Cineálta Policy in accordance with the Department of Education’s Bí Cineálta: Procedures to Prevent and Address Bullying Behaviour for Primary and Post-Primary Schools 2024.
The policy was developed following consultation with our pupils, parents/guardians, staff, Board of Management and wider school community. It was formally approved on 1 July 2025.
Our approach is preventative, relational and supportive. We aim not only to respond effectively when bullying occurs, but to foster a school culture in which kindness, inclusion, respect for difference and positive relationships are actively taught, modelled and celebrated.
What Do We Mean by Bullying?
Bullying is defined in the national Bí Cineálta procedures as targeted behaviour, online or offline, that causes harm. This harm may be physical, social and/or emotional. Bullying behaviour is repeated over time and involves an imbalance of power between individuals or groups.
As part of developing our policy, our school community selected a child-friendly definition of bullying:
Bullying is when someone hurts, upsets, or scares another person on purpose, over and over again. It’s not an accident or just a one-time thing. The person doing the bullying usually has more power, like being stronger, older, or having more friends. Bullying can happen in different ways—saying mean things, hurting someone, leaving them out, or even being unkind online. It can make the person being bullied feel really sad, scared, or lonely.
Not every disagreement, conflict or incident of unkind behaviour constitutes bullying. However, behaviour that does not meet the definition of bullying will still be addressed appropriately through our school’s Code of Behaviour and wider relational and wellbeing practices.
Preventing Bullying at PETNS
Preventing bullying is part of everyday school life. We recognise that positive relationships, meaningful inclusion, pupil voice and a strong sense of belonging are essential to creating a safe and supportive school environment.
Our whole-school approach includes:
- Teaching and learning: SPHE, Learn Together, Stay Safe, FUSE and Webwise programmes that promote respectful relationships, personal safety, empathy and online safety.
- Pupil voice and participation: Our pupil Bí Cineálta Committee, class discussions, surveys and opportunities for children to contribute to decisions affecting school life.
- Wellbeing and emotional regulation: Relational, trauma-informed approaches that support children’s emotional wellbeing, regulation and positive relationships.
- Equality and inclusion: Celebrating cultural diversity, neurodiversity, different identities and family structures, while actively challenging discrimination and exclusion.
- Positive school culture: Monthly values assemblies, whole-school initiatives, Bí Cineálta classroom agreements and opportunities to recognise kindness and respect.
- Supervision and staff development: Clear supervision arrangements, ongoing professional learning and consistent approaches to preventing and addressing bullying behaviour.
We recognise that bullying can take different forms, including online bullying, racist bullying, homophobic and transphobic bullying, sexist bullying, sexual harassment and bullying related to disability or additional educational needs.
What Happens if Bullying Is Reported?
We encourage children and parents/guardians to raise concerns whenever they feel that bullying or behaviour causing distress may be occurring.
When a concern is brought to our attention, we will listen carefully, gather relevant information and consider whether the behaviour meets the definition of bullying under the Bí Cineálta procedures.
Where bullying behaviour is identified, we will:
- Listen and reassure: Ensure that the child experiencing bullying is heard, supported and reassured.
- Understand what has happened: Speak sensitively with the children involved, taking account of their age, communication needs and individual circumstances.
- Work with parents/guardians: Communicate with the families involved and work collaboratively to agree appropriate next steps.
- Provide support: Support children experiencing bullying, children engaging in bullying behaviour and those who may have witnessed it.
- Agree actions: Develop appropriate supports and actions to address the behaviour, restore safety and promote positive change.
- Monitor and review: Record the concern, follow up with those involved and review progress to ensure that the agreed supports are effective.
Our focus is on restoring safety, supporting wellbeing, promoting accountability and learning, and repairing relationships where appropriate.
Who Should I Contact if I Have a Concern?
Parents/guardians who are concerned about possible bullying behaviour should contact their child’s class teacher in the first instance.
The Principal also has responsibility for addressing bullying behaviour, with the Deputy Principal undertaking this role in the Principal’s absence.
Children are encouraged to speak to their teacher or any trusted adult in school if something is happening that makes them feel worried, unsafe, excluded or upset.
Children do not need to know whether something meets the formal definition of bullying before asking for help. We want every child to feel confident that their concerns will be listened to and taken seriously.
School contact details
Email: info@powerstownet.com
Telephone: 01 827 2018
Working Together
Preventing and addressing bullying is a shared responsibility. Children, parents/guardians, staff and the Board of Management all have an important role in creating a school where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.
Our Bí Cineálta Policy is reviewed annually, with opportunities for our school community to contribute to its ongoing development and implementation.
Bí Cineálta Policy and Resources
The following documents provide further information about our school’s approach to preventing and addressing bullying behaviour:
- PETNS Bí Cineálta Policy to Prevent and Address Bullying Behaviour (2025) – our full school policy, approved by the Board of Management.
- Child-Friendly Bí Cineálta Policy – an accessible version of our policy to support children’s understanding of bullying and how to seek help.
- Bí Cineálta: Procedures to Prevent and Address Bullying Behaviour for Primary and Post-Primary Schools 2024 – the Department of Education’s national procedures.
Our Commitment
Every child has the right to feel safe, to be heard, to be treated with respect and to know that adults will help when something is wrong.
At Powerstown ETNS, Bí Cineálta is more than a policy. It reflects how we work together every day to build a kind, inclusive and respectful school community where every child belongs.
Ní neart go cur le chéile – There is no strength without unity.