Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

Social Personal and Health Education, otherwise known as SPHE, is designed to promote students' coping and decision-making skills, and encourage healthy lifestyles. The modules at junior cycle deal specifically with belonging and integrating, coping with stress, emotional health and well-being, and relationships and sexuality education. An awareness of when, how and from whom to seek help, when in difficulty, is promoted.

All post-primary schools provide a guidance and counselling service for their students and they receive ex-quota hours from my Department for this provision. The service includes the provision of individual guidance and counselling for students at times of personal crisis. My Department funds the provision of ongoing professional support through a counselling supervision service, providing advice and sharing practice on issues of concern. This is supplemented by the work of the National Centre for Guidance in Education and by funding provided to the Institute of Guidance Counsellors for professional development. The National Office for Suicide Prevention is also working with the Institute of Guidance Counsellors to support their members' work in this area.

Pastoral care teams in schools provide important assistance in promoting students' well-being and in ensuring that potential difficulties can be identified early. Class year tutors, guidance counsellors, home-school liaison co-ordinators and the services of the National Educational Psychological Service or NEPS, can play an important role in this respect.

NEPS provides consultation for guidance counsellors and other school staff, enabling them to put interventions in place for individuals with clearly identified and serious difficulties. When counselling of a protracted nature is required it is referred to an outside agency. Schools are advised to identify, with the assistance of NEPS, appropriate referral pathways in consultation with the HSE and other mental health services in their local community.

The guidelines issues by NEPS for schools on responding to critical incidents provide advice to schools in managing traumatic events, including advice on prevention and early intervention strategies for students at risk. In the cases referred to by the Deputy, it is imperative that outside clinical services are involved. NEPS psychologists will be available to consult with guidance counsellors if requested.

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