Mr. David Duffy:

The Teachers' Union of Ireland, TUI, thanks the committee for the opportunity to make this opening statement on the topic of mental health supports in schools and tertiary education.

The prevalence of mental health difficulties is a significant issue, not just for the education system, but for society as a whole. The two education Departments and the wider State have a duty of care not just to students, but also to staff, to support their mental health and well-being. Education settings, whether post-primary, further education or higher education, can play a vital role in supporting students, staff and families in terms of mental health. However, education settings cannot do this on their own. They need support from those same families, the wider community and taxpayers if mental health is to be addressed satisfactorily. It is also essential that support services, both inside and outside the education system, be resourced to provide specialist assistance as required.

Mental health difficulties existed long before the Covid-19 pandemic, but the pandemic has made matters worse. The TUI is committed to supporting meaningful measures that support students who experience mental health difficulties and their teachers or lecturers who educate them but who can also experience mental health difficulties of their own.

Schools and colleges require support from relevant agencies with expertise in mental health if they are to support the affected students adequately and appropriately. Cuts to pastoral care supports in schools, such as in guidance provision and middle management posts, have also made it difficult for schools to support students in these demanding situations. The loss of pastoral supports such as assistant principal positions is a situation that the Department of Education has described as "unsustainable". These posts of responsibility are essential in building relationships and identifying issues, especially as a mainstream post-primary teacher usually sees approximately 250 students every week.

Mental health support services in tertiary education are significantly understaffed in terms of counsellors, pastoral staff and those with special responsibility for supporting students. This is even before we take into account the expected increases in student enrolment in further and higher education. Additional staffing is vital. Mental health can also become an issue for staff themselves. Staff may encounter such difficulties in either their personal or professional lives and it is essential that adequate support be available to them too.

The TUI would like to make a number of recommendations to the committee. Mental health in education settings should be taken seriously and appropriate investment of resources, provision of time and training should be made in it for both students and staff. It is essential that vital support services within schools be restored.

This includes, but is not limited to, guidance support and middle management posts. Significant investment is needed in out-of-school and out-of-college supports such as child and adult mental health services. An inclusive support structure should be set up in schools and colleges with access to all the necessary professionals and referrals in a timely manner. Staffing in NEPS should be expanded to allow for greater one-to-one direct support for students from NEPS psychologists. We note that some additional staffing has been provided. A trickle-down model on its own simply is not enough. The number of counsellors and psychologists in tertiary education support services should, as my colleague from USI said, be increased to the international recommendation of one per 1,000 students. Training should be provided to teachers and lecturers in how best to refer on students and how to interface with the appropriate services. The HSE should allow students to access community mental health services in their local community during holiday periods and to access education settings for mental health support during term time and vice versa. Significant additional staffing should be provided to the adult education guidance service. Learners in further education and training, FET, such as Youthreach should have access to a broad range of guidance and counselling supports, as required. All education staff should have access to mental health support programmes for themselves and for the support of their students. There should be access to dedicated support teams who work directly with staff and students focusing on prevention over cure. I thank the committee for listening to this opening statement. The TUI would be happy to answer any questions members may have. The TUI would also like to direct the committee to the more extensive written submission we made in August, which provides more detail on the issues I have outlined.