Ms Saoirse Brady:

There is a real need for more therapeutic support in schools. In the survey that we included in our submission, where principals themselves were interviewed and surveyed, there was a real need for properly trained therapeutic supports in schools. Otherwise it falls to teachers. We know that there is a great deal on their plate already. We know that Covid-19, in particular, has had a detrimental impact on the mental health of children and young people throughout the education system. We do not know what the ramifications are going to be in the longer-term. There are a couple of opportunities coming up as well to address what might happen there.

One is the Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures: The National Policy Framework for Children and Young People, 2014-2020. A new policy of this type will be coming up. This will need to address the recovery for children and young people following the impact of Covid-19 and there should be a big focus on education in that new policy framework.

When we go to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, a spotlight will be shone on and what is happening in our education system. We are very glad that schools were prioritised, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic and that they have reopened. All schools need those supports to be put in place, not only to deal with Covid-19, but the supports that are necessary were not there in the first place to deal with some of the issues that are arising through bullying and other mental health and socio-behavioural issues. That is particularly the case in schools where children may be experiencing poverty or homelessness. We do not always know what is going on in the life of a child or young person. If we had those supports in place perhaps we might be able to assess in a better way what is happening for them and to provide them with the in-school supports that are there. Where out-of-school supports are necessary and perhaps where an issue is more serious, there should be a link-up and a way for teachers and for the educational psychologists in the schools to refer those children onwards.