Vol. 508 No. 4
256 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Education and Science the scheme or facility, if any, whereby a school or group of schools could access funding for the purposes of setting up a counselling service to assist students who have social and emotional problems, disrupting school work and in danger of dropping out of the school system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19270/99]
The guidance service in post-primary schools is provided to give counselling support to students who may have emotional and social difficulties as well as to provide educational and vocational guidance. All second level schools have allocations of ex-quota posts for the purpose of guidance and counselling. Schools having particularly acute problems may submit evidence to my Department for consideration of an increase in guidance allocations.
The development of the support teacher scheme in a number of primary schools with relatively large numbers of pupils who experience behavioural difficulties may assist in identifying their counselling needs and also in identifying counselling facilities in local areas, including especially those services provided by the health boards. My Department is in the process of recruiting a national co-ordinator to assist in the development at the support teacher scheme in primary schools.
The National Educational Psychological Service Agency, which was formally established on 1 September 1999, has already begun the process of recruiting additional psychologists. It is intended that all schools will have access to the service provided by the new agency by the end of a five year period. This new service will be organised on a regional basis in close consultation with the relevant services of the health boards with a view, in particular, to the provision of support for children and young people having special needs, including emotional and social needs.
