Dr. Joseph Duffy:

Jigsaw has been doing significant work in supporting schools, particularly post-primary schools. This work is done under the auspices of One Good School, which looks to support the whole school as an entity in itself. We provide training for young people around peer education and support for classes, and we also provide training for teachers and parents. What we have noticed in the three months of the Covid period is that 7,500 of the online e-learning courses we offer were downloaded. Almost 5,000 of those courses have been completed by teachers. This shows a significant need to get the support for teachers and schools in supporting young people.

As we move back to school in September, we are looking at the transition back into the school setting, managing anxiety, reconnecting with the classroom, minding one's mental health and self-care for teachers. Jigsaw, operating very closely with the HSE, is very conscious of working on the broad psychosocial model. This takes the view that mental health supports are not just provided on an individual basis, they are also provided on a community and societal basis. The supports we can provide to schools will be very important as we continue to see the impact on young people.

We know that some young people will be anxious coming back to school, some will be delighted for the experience of something new, and many will be in the middle. They will be concerned about their exams and what it means for their projected future. The important thing is normalising that experience and providing as much support as possible. A lot of positive work has been done linking National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, the Department of Education and Skills, and the health and well-being section of the HSE, which have worked together on this. Obviously, a huge amount more is to be done. The new Sharing the Vision policy and the new well-being guidelines from the Department of Education and Skills will help.