Joint Committee on Education, Further & Higher Education, Research, Innovation & Science has agreed its Report on Mental Health Supports in Schools and Tertiary Education

Speaking on the Report Committee Cathaoirleach Deputy Paul Kehoe TD said “The Committee identified Mental Health Supports in Schools and Tertiary Education as a national issue of concern that warranted examination in a considered and sensitive way. It follows on from the Joint Committee Report on School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health published in August 2021.”

Deputy Kehoe added “The Joint Committee agreed to produce a report having identified the following key areas for examination: 

Primary and Post Primary School Mental Health Supports to include Counselling Provision.
Further and Higher Education Mental Health Supports to include Counselling Provision.
Coordination of Services and establishment of Links between HSE Services and the Education System
Student Engagement and Peer Supports.
Teacher Training and Continuous Professional Development (CPD) including relevant staff in Tertiary Education. 
International Experience and Best Practice
 

The objective of this report is to examine the ways a fit-for-purpose Mental Health Programme can be implemented in all Schools and Tertiary Education Institutions. While the report focuses primarily on student supports, it recognises the need to support the entire school and tertiary education communities.” 

Read the full Report on Mental Health Supports in Schools and Tertiary Education

Below are the Ten Key Report Recommendations, listed by order in which they appear in the main body of the Report. They are of equal value.

1.  The Youth Mental Health Pathfinder Project should be commenced without further delay through early and constructive dialogue between the Ministers for Education; Health; Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and Public Expenditure and Reform and their Senior Officials. 

2. The Department of Education Pilot Programme of Counselling Supports for Primary Schools should:

·        Include Post Primary Schools.

·        Review Counsellor Qualifications, to include the additional training required for Counselling Children with Special Needs, in liaison with the Expert Task Force on Professional Training for School Mental Health Supports proposed in Recommendation 7 (Key Recommendation 5).

·        Be piloted and, pending review, rolled out to all Primary and Post Primary Schools.

·        Given that children in poverty are at increased risk of mental health disorders, socio-demographic should be considered, and resource provision should be increased in DEIS schools as a preventative measure.

3. School and Tertiary Education Libraries should be designated as Places of Sanctuary. To this end:

·        The Department of Education should establish a National Advisory Group on School Library Provision by the end of September 2022, to develop a National Strategy for School Libraries with the key aim of ensuring there is a School Library, School Librarian in all Primary and Post Primary Schools by end of 2024. In the interim, it should expand both the Junior Certificate School Programme (JCSP).

·        Demonstration Library Project and JCSP Digital Library Service as an urgent national priority. 

·        The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science through the Higher Education Authority (HEA) should engage with Student Support Services and Students Unions in all publicly funded Higher Education Institutions and Further Education Institutions to ensure each library becomes a Place of Sanctuary. 

4. The Department of Education should restore middle management positions removed from schools and undertake an assessment of School Leadership posts at Primary level, with a view to aligning the number of leadership posts with equivalent posts at secondary level. Year heads should have a minimum of 2.5 hours allocated in addition to their timetable to deal with unexpected student issues, as they arise.

5. The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research Innovation and Science should establish an Expert Task Force on Professional Training for School Mental Health Supports, to examine inter alia, 

·        Demographic projections so that there are an adequate number of undergraduate and post graduate places to meet the demand for Mental Health Support Professionals including Clinical and Educational Psychologists; Therapeutic Counsellors; Speech and Language Therapists and Occupational Therapists.  

·        The Provision of Courses and Accreditation of Therapeutic Counsellors in liaison with Higher Education Institutions and relevant Professional Bodies. The purpose of this would be to regulate the profession and ensure Counsellors employed in schools have a recognised qualification. 

·        The projected numbers of counsellors that will be needed for children with special educational needs who require Therapeutic Counsellors with additional training.

·        The need to increase the number of students, across the range of relevant disciplines, from a more diverse range of backgrounds. These include Travellers, Ethnic Minorities and Socio-Economically Disadvantaged students. To this end, it is recommended removing or subsidising the fees for certain courses and paying a stipend to psychology students undertaking work placements.

6. Multi-annual, core funding must be ring-fenced for student counselling services in all Higher Education Institutions (HEI)s and Further Education Institutions (FEI)s, to ensure:

·        Qualified Counsellors are available upon demand to all students who require the Service and that a target of 1 counsellor per 1,000 students is reached to comply with international best practice. 

·        The National Student Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Framework (2020) can be implemented in full.

·        Counsellors and Psychologists in tertiary education support services are given long-term or permanent contracts so that student counselling is seen as a viable and attractive career path.

7. A National Mental Health Programme for Children and Young People should be initiated as a top priority by the Government, with the immediate establishment of a High-Level Steering Group. The Group should be co-chaired by the Departments of Education and Health and comprise senior Officials from these Departments and, also, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science; Justice; Housing; Children, Youth Integration and Disabilities; Social Protection; Finance; Public Expenditure, Taoiseach’s, and the Health Service Executive (HSE). 

8. The Programme should consider the establishment of mental health supports delivered on site in schools. To this end:

·        Ring-fenced funding would be made available to the Department of Education to fund the dedicated post or a Post of Responsibility

·        (POR) of a Designated Mental Health Lead (DMHL) in schools. DMHLs would have responsibility for delivering mental health supports to students on-site in the school in liaison with relevant Health Service Executive (HSE) professional staff who are also on site; and

·        Ring-fenced funding would be made available to allow for effective delivery of mental health supports to individual students by an accredited mental health professional. The person would also have responsibility for the delivery of workshops and other ancillary supports as part of a whole school approach. It should include parent/guardian supports as an integral part of the model.

·        Ring-fenced funding would be made available to non-statutory mental health supports for students to address the overflow of demand on the statutory services and to reduce waiting times.

·        Ring-fenced funding would be made available to expand assessment of needs services, which the on-site professional will sign-post students to. This will increase earlier diagnoses.

9. Wellbeing supports should be an integral part of the curriculum at Primary and Post Primary level. Therefore, mandatory training on School Bullying, Wellbeing (including Developing Resilience and Emotional Intelligence), Autism and Neurodiversity, Disability, Racism, Gender, Diversity, and Inclusivity should be provided in all Initial Teacher Education (ITE) and Special Needs Assistant (SNA) courses, and to all Primary and Post Primary school teachers as part of their Continuous Professional Development (CPD), which should also be extended to SNAs. 

10. The Higher Education Authority (HEA) should liaise with the Health Service Executive (HSE) to roll out training in Further Education Institutions (FEI)s and Higher Education Institution (HEI)s to Lecturers, Tutors and other relevant staff on warning signs that may precede or predict mental health issues in young adults. Staff should be given information on when to refer a student to the relevant supports both within the educational institution and the relevant public health service. Training should be also provided on how to interface with these support services.