Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 March 2021
408. Deputy Fergus O'Dowd asked the Minister for Education if provision has been made within her Department to provide counselling services to families with children with specials needs due to the damaging effects of the recent closures of schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11122/21]
View answerMy Department has invested heavily in schools to support them throughout this pandemic and has prioritised the return to school for children with special educational needs.
Promoting wellbeing is a fundamental element of the Department’s overall plan to support school communities as we continue to manage the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) of my Department is leading on supporting the wellbeing of schools communities at this time. The response to support the wellbeing of all within school communities requires a structured, psychosocial response which is compassionate and largely preventative and proactive. A whole-school team approach to planning is recommended in order to ensure that staff, students and parents feel safe and secure. This response is aligned with the HSE guidance on such responses, and based on the five key principles of promoting a sense of safety, calm, connectedness, self- and community-efficacy and hope.
NEPS has created a range of resources and support including Wellbeing Webinars for primary/ special/post-primary schools, Wellbeing Toolkits for Schools with a range of easily downloadable, user-friendly materials and advice and resources for parents, student and school staff to support their wellbeing at this time.
Resources are also available for parents and students including the following:
Parents
- A Guide for Parents on supporting children and young people with daily routines while schools are closed
- How to Calm and Support your Child – A Guide for Parents and Guardians
- Managing Stress and Anxiety - A Guide for Parents and Guardians
Students
- Advice for young people while schools are closed
- A Plan for the Day – A template to support daily routines
- Managing Stress and Anxiety – a guide for students
- Panic attacks – a guide for students
These resources can be accessed on the gov.ie website. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is also providing a range of online resources for parents and teachers to support children with special educational needs during the Covid 19 restrictions.
The Department of Health has responsibility for the provision of counselling services in Ireland, and through HSE Primary Care Psychology and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) provides clinical support to children and young people with mental health needs. In addition, the HSE and its funded providers, provide e-mental health services that offer online text and telephone supports to people seeking mental health information and advice. These include services provided by the Samaritans; Pieta House; MyMind; Turn2Me; Aware; Crisis Text Ireland; Shine; BeLongTo; LGBT Ireland; Jigsaw; Bodywhys and Childline. My Department will continue to signpost schools and students to the HSE/HSE-funded mental health services.
