The provision of guidance in third level colleges is a matter for individual colleges and the Higher Education Authority. At second level all schools have an ex-quota teacher allocation for the provision of guidance and counselling. In the case of schools in the free education scheme, the level of allocation ranges from eight hours per week in the case of schools with enrolments below 200 pupils to 44 hours per week, that is two whole-time posts, in the case of schools with an enrolment of 1,000 pupils or more.
In addition to allocations based on enrolments, 50 whole-time equivalent guidance counselling posts were allocated in the 2001-02 school year under the guidance enhancement initiative, GEI. The focus of this initiative was to enhance the provision of guidance to young people at risk, to improve links between schools and the world of work and to improve the take-up of science subjects. The GEI was recently extended for a further two years and an additional 30 guidance posts were allocated under the initiative from the commencement of the current school year.
Professional training in guidance and counselling for practitioners in second level schools is provided by a number of universities who offer either a one-year full-time or two-year part-time higher diploma in guidance and counselling as a postgraduate course. A master's degree in education with a specialism in guidance and counselling is available as an alternative route to qualification for second level teachers.
My Department also supports a number of in-service training activities for guidance counsellors in second level schools. In the main, these activities take the form of seminars, conferences and short courses. In consultation with the Institute of Guidance Counsellors, my Department is working to ensure that in-career development opportunities for guidance counsellors are structured in a way that will adequately address their needs in the context of the changing environment in which guidance and counselling services are delivered.
The National Centre for Guidance in Education, NCGE, is an agency of my Department whose role is to support and develop guidance in all areas of education, and to inform policy in this field. As part of its remit the NCGE develops guidance materials, provides advice on good practice, supports innovation and pilot projects, disseminates information to practitioners and carries out a range of surveys and related research on guidance practice and needs.
My predecessor commissioned a review of guidance and counselling in post-primary schools, which is now near completion. I expect to receive the report of the review in January 2005, and the findings will help to inform strategy on the development of guidance in post-primary schools.
