Seán Haughey
Question:227. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will ensure that mental health awareness is promoted in schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34670/16]
View answerTuesday, 15 November 2016
Questions (227)
Written answers
My Department is strongly supportive of the promotion of positive mental health awareness in both primary and post-primary schools and provides support and resources in this area. The Department adopts a holistic and integrated approach to supporting the work of schools in promoting positive mental health and to supporting those with a broad range of problems, behavioural emotional and social.
The process spans the curriculum in schools, whole-school ethos, quality of teaching, learning and assessment, student support and pastoral care and the provision of professional development for teachers. It also involves other supports such as educational psychological services and guidance and counselling services, and the interface with other agencies, both nationally and locally.
My Department has issued Well-Being in Post Primary Schools: Guidelines for Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention to all primary schools in 2013 and Well-Being in Primary Schools: Guidelines for Mental Health Promotion 2015 to all schools. These guidelines were developed in conjunction with the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive. The Guidelines have been circulated to schools and are available on my Department’s website.
The Guidelines are informed by consultation with key Education and Health partners and by the findings of current research. They provide practical guidance to schools on how they can promote health and mental well-being in an integrated school-wide way and they also provide evidence-based advice on how to support young people who may be at risk.
These guidelines complement existing measures to promote positive mental health at primary level. They build on the significant work already taking place in schools, including through the Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) curriculum, the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) continuum of support model and the HSE, Health Promoting Schools Process.
The SPHE curriculum is mandatory up to junior cycle and contains a number of specific aims that are relevant to positive mental health and promotion of healthy lifestyles through exploration of substance use and misuse. These include promoting all aspects of the child's health, fostering in the child a sense of care and respect for himself/herself, and enabling the young person to make informed decisions and choices about all aspects of life including health.
Schools are also encouraged to participate in the 'Health Promoting Schools' initiative, which is supported by the Department of Health. This European-wide programme aims to strengthen schools' capacity to be a healthy setting for learning and working by focusing at whole-school level on all the conditions that affect health and well-being. The results from the second Lifeskills survey which were published by my Department in January of this year indicate that approximately 40% of respondent primary schools are currently in the Health Promoting Schools initiative or are in the process of joining. My Department is working with the Department of Health to increase participation among primary schools.