Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 June 2023
340. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Education if her Department is considering the full roll-out of mental health supports for schools in Ireland; if the establishment of mental-health supports on-site in schools is being considered, with 544,788 primary pupils (details supplied), which equates to €20 per pupil; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29860/23]
View answerThe provision of child and adolescent mental health services in Ireland lies specifically within the remit of the Department of Health and the HSE. Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) is a service that provides assessment and treatment for young people who are experiencing mental health difficulties. However, The Department of Education plays an important role in supporting the well-being and mental health of our young people. I recently announced a programme of counselling and mental health supports to be piloted in a number of primary schools from September 2023. The new programme will work to mitigate the mental health challenges which may be experienced by children in our schools.
The pilot project has two strands. Strand 1 comprises the provision of one-to-one counselling to support small numbers of children experiencing mild to moderate levels of emotional distress. All schools in counties Cavan, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Mayo, Monaghan and Tipperary will be included in the first strand of the pilot. The Department of Education will establish a county panel of pre-approved experienced counsellors to work in the selected schools for the duration of the pilot. Schools in the pilot will be allocated a number of blocks of up to eight sessions of counselling per child.
Details of Strand 2 will be announced shortly and this strand will see the establishment of a new in-school support which will strengthen whole school preventative approaches, including the provision of psycho-education support for parents and teachers.
This pilot is in addition to the existing supports for well-being and mental health in schools.
The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides direct support in the event of a critical incident, access to national and regional support and development work to build school capacity to support students, access to individual pupil casework where there is need. NEPS works closely with the HSE and its agencies to ensure those who may require the provision of therapy or counselling are referred on to the appropriate clinical services for intervention and support.
Psychologists from NEPS are facilitating post-primary schools to improve the Student Support Team process. Student Support Teams are the structure through which key well-being and well-being-related policies are implemented in post-primary schools.
NEPS has developed training for school staff on the promotion of well-being and resilience in schools which include upskilling school staff on the use and implementation of therapeutically-informed approaches in schools. These include trauma-informed approaches, approaches based on the principles of cognitive behaviour therapy, and attachment-aware approaches. The approaches outlined in the training are based on research findings, on the experience of experts in their fields and on the experience of practising psychologists working in schools. The training will build the capability of school staff in both primary and post-primary settings, including for school leaders, teachers and SNAs.
NEPS provides training for school staff on the Friends for Life programmes to help reduce anxiety in children and also the Incredible Years Classroom Management System. NEPS has also launched an eLearning course - Responding to Critical Incidents in Schools. This course is aimed specifically at the school’s Critical Incident Management Team, but open to all interested staff.
