EU education ministers yesterday called on the European Commission to prepare a report on national school strategies and best practice in protecting children against paedophilia, writes Patrick Smyth, from Brussels.
The meeting, chaired by the Minister for Education, Ms Breathnach, also approved outline plans for programmes to compare national experience in school effectiveness, lifelong learning, and local community development through education and training.
The emphasis in protecting children, the Commissioner for Education, Ms Edith Cresson, said, was on the need to create a safe and caring environment in schools which fostered a trust of teachers in children which would allow them to talk about abuse.
