Ms Fiona Jennings:

I thank the Senator for her kind comments and recognition of our helpline. Our volunteers and facilitators do fantastic work.

On SPHE, the time allocated for the junior cycle course is 100 hours over three years. The average is about one hour per week, which is not great.

Smart Moves is a whole classroom-based and evidence-based programme which the ISPCC has the rights to use in Ireland. Current uptake is 333 primary schools and 15 post-primary schools. The plan for this year is to target more post-primary schools in order to get further uptake. The unique selling point of the programme is that it is based on strengthening emotional resilience and coping ability and giving children smart moves they can develop as lessons proceed. It aligns with Government policies and the HSE Stronger Together plan under growing and learning well. Evidence has shown that in these types of programmes, outcomes are better when delivered within the classroom setting by the classroom teacher who the children have a relationship with. In terms of next steps, we are trying to translate the programme into Irish in order that our colleagues in Gaelscoils can access it, as well as further development of parent and carer support materials and securing funding to upscale. I am happy to send the outline of the programme.

SilverCloud is a digital health programme that parents of anxious children and young people can access. It is an adult programme that supports parents of anxious children or teenagers from ages five to 18. Parents avail of the programme to develop skills and techniques to support their anxious child or young person. There are modules they can do themselves and there are others they can do together. There is a separate programme for children and young people aged 14 to 18. They can log on and do the programme at their own pace and learn different things. It is cognitive behavioural therapy-based. They learn about understanding thoughts and behaviours and the relationships between them. On evaluation, there are two questionnaires, pre- and post-use and sometimes in the interim. There are strength and difficulties questionnaires, skill-testing questions, STQs, and general anxiety disorder assessment, or GAD-7.

They help to determine the starting point for the child or young person. It can be looked at in the interim and then also at the end. It runs over approximately eight to 12 weeks and the child or young person has the autonomy to dip in and out of it.