Ms Anne Tansey:

I thank the Vice-Chairman and members of the joint committee for the invitation to the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, to attend today to discuss mental health prevention, early intervention and talk therapy. My statement will primarily address the role of the Department of Education and Skills in the promotion of well-being and positive mental health and the role and purpose of NEPS in the promotion of well-being and positive mental health.

NEPS is a constituent section of the Department of Education and Skills, and, as such, promotes and operates within the scope of the Department's policy and practices. The Department promotes a whole-school, preventative, multi-component approach to the promotion of well-being and positive mental health in schools. It supports the provision of interventions at the universal level, focusing on the entire school community, and targeted levels, focusing on groups and individual young people with identified need. In practice, schools that successfully promote well-being are schools in which the voice of the student is heard, students experience a sense of belonging, and students feel safe, connected and supported. They are schools in which students experience positive, high-quality teaching and learning, and in which approaches to well-being are developed, implemented and self-evaluated. Furthermore, they are schools in which all adults listen to students, recognise the importance of well-being and can signpost students to internal and external pathways to support, as needed.

The Department of Education and Skills' Action Plan for Education 2016-2019 has set out a range of objectives and proposed actions for the development and promotion of well-being in schools, in line with best practice. In the coming weeks, the Minister, Deputy Bruton, will publish the Department's well-being policy statement and framework for practice, in order to further support all schools in this area.

NEPS is the psychological service of the Department of Education and Skills. Its goal is to support the well-being, and the academic, social and emotional development, of all students in primary and post-primary schools through the application of psychological theory and practice in education. NEPS prioritises support for students at risk of educational disadvantage and those with special educational needs. NEPS also prioritises the promotion of the well-being and mental health of all students in schools.

Each NEPS psychologist has a list of assigned schools and provides a school-based support service to these schools. A major strength of the service deliver of NEPS is that psychologists and schools are afforded the opportunity to develop strong working relationships over time. NEPS is organised regionally with 23 offices nationwide. Currently there are 179 whole-time equivalent psychologists working in the service and 15 more psychologists will be recruited later in 2018.

NEPS psychologists work with schools using a tiered service delivery model encompassing case work and systemic support and development work. Liaison with other agencies to ensure co-ordinated service delivery to students is an important element of our work. In addition, NEPS works to inform policy and practice to promote the positive mental health of our children and young people, within the Department of Education and Skills and at cross-sectoral level. NEPS works collaboratively with schools to identify those with the greatest need, in order to provide a responsive and reactive service.

Casework is the work NEPS psychologists do with individual students who are prioritised as having the highest level of need in their school. Psychologists work in collaboration with parents and teachers, as key agents of change in the student's life. Casework involves the assessment and identification of the student's needs.

It also involves supporting schools and parents to understand the difficulties and to implement workable, evidence-informed interventions for that student. As part of that work, NEPS psychologists may liaise with other service providers with whom the student may be engaged. All these cases include elements of managing the student's well-being and psychological health. NEPS psychologists do not generally provide ongoing talk therapy as part of our interventions. In the academic year, 2016-17, NEPS psychologists were involved in case work relating to 8,309 students, which equates to 80% of our school-based work.

NEPS psychologists help to build the capacity of schools to implement best practice in well-being promotion through the provision of consultation and training. At national level, NEPS currently prioritises the training of teachers in DEIS schools in three particular programmes. The first is the Incredible Years teacher programme, an evidence-based programme for teachers, which strengthens social and emotional competence in primary school children. The second is the Friends programme, an evidence-based programme which reduces anxiety and promotes coping skills and resilience in primary and post-primary students. The third is training in the development of student support teams in post-primary schools to co-ordinate supports and develop a whole-school approach to well-being promotion. In addition, at national level, NEPS is prioritising the training of teachers in all post-primary schools on the revised NEPS Critical Incident: Guidelines and Resources for Schools, which helps schools to have a plan in place to implement in the event of a critical incident. When it is prioritised by a school, NEPS psychologists may also provide more tailored support and development to strengthen school capacity in the area of well-being to respond to individual school need.

NEPS provides direct support to schools in the event of critical incidents that overwhelm the coping mechanisms of schools. The purpose of this support is to enable schools to regain normal functioning and minimise the impact of trauma on the school community. NEPS continues to develop its thinking and approaches in this area. At present, NEPS is conducting research into the current and evolving approaches to developing the skills of our students in order to promote their resilience and well-being. We continue to work with our partners within education and at cross-sectoral level to further improve and align the services schools receive in this regard. I thank the committee for the invitation to present this paper and to contribute to the discussion. I am happy to take any questions committee members may have.