Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair and committee for the invitation. I acknowledge that they are reaching out and want an inclusive approach here. That is the language that I was speaking to my officials with yesterday. I see a role for this committee. The work and report it has done on positive mental health and well-being and the committee's suggestions are of critical importance. I will be looking at a 2019 plan and I would like this committee to be part of that plan, front and centre, for 2019. At a wider level, we will be looking at a three-year education plan and I would like the space and time at this committee to see how we can work together on that. We have cross-party representation and Independents here. They all have their own experiences, having been together as a committee and working on education matters for longer than I have. I have been thrown into the job in the last 48 hours. I spent yesterday trying to familiarise myself with a wide range of policy. At 10 p.m. last night, my head was about to explode and I had to stop. My take away from my first day on the job yesterday is this. I was a secondary school teacher in 1993 and the world of education is different now. I acknowledge everybody involved in the education sector, the teachers and the creative work that has been done. I will get a chance to talk about that on a wider level later.

Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghlacadh leis an gCathaoirleach agus le baill an Chomhchoiste um Oideachas agus Scileanna de bharr na suime atá léirithe acu maidir le cothú na folláine agus na meabhairshláinte dearfaí sa chóras scoile. Ba mhaith liom fosta mo bhuíochas a ghlacadh leis an gcoiste as ucht an chuiridh labhairt anseo inniu. Tá mé sásta go raibh an deis seo agam an t-eolas is deireanaí a roinnt maidir leis an dul chun cinn atá déanta ag mo Roinn i dtaobh na moltaí a cuireadh chun cinn sa tuarascáil Positive Mental Health in Schools.

I thank the Chair and members of the Joint Committee on Education and Skills for the interest they have shown in the area of well-being promotion and positive mental health in our schools and for their invitation to attend today to update the committee on the progress being made by my Department in implementing the recommendations made in the committee's 2017 report on Positive Mental Health in Schools. My statement today will primarily address the role of the Department of Education and Skills in the promotion of well-being and positive mental health; the well-being policy statement and framework for practice 2018-2023; and progress made on the recommendations of the joint committee's report on positive mental health in schools.

The promotion of well-being is an essential element of the ambition of the Department of Education and Skills to achieve the best education and training system in Europe by 2026. Schools and centres for education are crucial to the ongoing development of our children and young people's well-being and we are fortunate to have schools already doing so much to enhance children and young people's knowledge and skills in this area. The Department of Education and Skills has a key role to play in the promotion of the well-being of children and young people in Ireland, in collaboration with the Departments of Health and Children and Youth Affairs, and with other Departments and agencies. The promotion of well-being in the education community is a priority for the Department of Education and Skills.

My Department adopts a holistic and integrated approach to supporting schools in promoting well-being and positive mental health. 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 services and the interface with other agencies, both nationally and locally. The action plan for education for 2016 to 2019 from the Department of Education and Skills set out a number of objectives and proposed actions specifically targeting the promotion of well-being and positive mental health in our school communities.

These actions build upon and complement well-being promoting measures that have already been put in place. They include improved curriculum content, including the introduction of the junior cycle well-being programme; more training for teachers and school staff, including the roll-out of evidence based programmes to promote social and emotional competence, resilience and school connectedness; the introduction of best practice models of school based student support teams; an increase in the number of NEPS psychologists; and the restoration of guidance posts.

Key among the objectives within the Action Plan for Education 2018 was the publication of the Department’s Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice 2018-2023, which was launched in July 2018, providing an overarching structure encompassing existing, ongoing and developing work in the area of well-being promotion. The Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice 2018-2023 sets out the ambition and vision of the Department of Education and Skills that, by 2023, the promotion of well-being will be at the core of the ethos of every school and centre for education in Ireland, that all schools will provide evidence-informed approaches and support, appropriate to need, to promote the well-being of their students and that Ireland will be recognised as a leader in this area.

The well-being policy statement and framework for practice describes how schools can best promote well-being. In practice, such schools are those that recognise the importance of well-being promotion, where the voices of children and young people are heard, and where they experience a sense of belonging and feel safe, connected and supported. They are schools which provide children and young people with positive experiences, high-quality teaching and learning, and in which approaches to well-being are developed, implemented and self-evaluated. Furthermore, they are schools that can signpost students and their parents to internal and external pathways to support, as needed.

The well-being policy statement sets out the evidence base for best practice in regard to school well-being promotion, which indicates that schools should adopt a whole-school, multi-component, preventative approach to well-being promotion that includes both universal and targeted interventions. A whole-school approach involves all in the school community engaging in a collaborative process to improve areas of school life that impact on well-being. This will be achieved through the use of a school self-evaluation process taking well-being promotion as its focus. It will allow schools to benchmark their practice against indicators of success and statements of effective practice, and identify areas for development, implementation and review. It is envisaged that schools will engage with the statements and adapt and develop the best practice items as they meet the needs in their own school community.

A multi-component approach encourages schools to address areas, not only relating to teaching and learning, but also relating to other essential elements of well-being promotion, including school culture and environment, policy and planning, and relationships and partnerships. Working preventatively and providing for both universal and targeted approaches is described as providing a "continuum of support". Schools are encouraged to provide supports to promote the well-being of all within the school community, as well as providing some targeted interventions for children and young people presenting with vulnerabilities in the area of well-being. These areas are embedded in the well-being framework for practice.

It is my Department’s aim that, by 2023, all schools and centres for education will have embedded this dynamic school self-evaluation process focusing on well-being promotion. The implementation of this well-being promotion process is an ongoing process that will ensure the necessary focus on supporting children and young people in having a sense of purpose and fulfilment, and the skills necessary to deal with life’s challenges. Schools will be supported in this work by a comprehensive national professional development programme currently being developed and trialled, and a full national roll-out will commence in 2019 and run to 2023. This will include facilitating the engagement of schools in the school self-evaluation for well-being promotion process, which will build professional capacity.

The implementation plan for this policy also sets goals to promote the well-being of teachers and to address the learning needs of current and future teachers in regard to well-being promotion. Work is under way to map the range of existing supports that schools can already access through the Professional Development Service for Teachers, PDST, health and well-being team, the Junior Cycle for Teachers service and NEPS, with a view to ensuring there is a comprehensive and easily accessible set of resources to address school-identified well-being promotion needs. There is also a plan to develop a research based framework for the evaluation of well-being promotion in schools. A well-being policy implementation group is in place which will co-ordinate activity with other Departments. This group will link with the Pathfinder project structures when progressed. The Department collaborates in the implementation of Healthy Ireland 2013-2025, the Connecting for Life strategy 2015-2020 and Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures 2014-2020.

The well-being policy statement and framework for practice has incorporated some of the key recommendations of this committee’s report on positive mental health in schools. I thank all the committee members for their work and input in that regard. Key recommendations in regard to the whole-school approach, the importance of listening and of feeling a sense of belonging, and connectedness to school are highlighted as areas to target in school well-being promotion. The implementation plan recognises the need, and plans to provide for additional teacher training and the development of more resources for schools. The needs of children and young people with well-being vulnerabilities are also recognised, and actions that require co-operation between the Department of Education and Skills and other Departments and agencies, including the Department of Health, the HSE, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and Tusla are included in the implementation plan. My Department will continue to work closely with other Departments and stakeholders to ensure an aligned approach and a continuum of services is provided to promote the positive mental health and well-being of all of our children and young people.

Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghlacadh leis an gcoiste as ucht an cuiridh an doiciméid seo a chur ina láthair agus páirt a glacadh sa phlé. Tá mé breá sásta aon cheist atá ag baill an choiste a fhreagairt. Once again, I thank the committee for the invitation. I am happy to take any questions members may have.