Ms Maureen Murray:

I totally agree. The fear among staff in schools is about opening the floodgates because they feel they may be regarded as the counsellor or the person who should be the professional providing support to students. We in Jigsaw reiterate over and over again that staff in schools are not trained professionals or counsellors. They can promote and support mental health on an ongoing basis for all in the school, as Ms Jennings said earlier on, but when we move up to issues affecting some and few, school staff are not the people to deal with those issues. We need more direct resources in school to support young people who are more at risk and have more difficulties.