Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The answer is very specific things. This is part of the confidence and supply agreement. We have now restored 500 of the 600 guidance counsellors who were in our schools. We have expanded the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, recruited additional staff and focused them specifically on delivering equality of opportunity in schools, DEIS. In September, we introduced a well-being programme for children, specifically well-being at junior cycle, that is, in those early teen years. That seeks to ensure that the schools will have the policies, the curricular content, the relationship building and referral mechanisms in place to ensure that children who might be experiencing difficulty will have support in the school where appropriate and the capacity for referral to appropriate services elsewhere. The Deputy is absolutely right that the well-being of children is becoming an increasingly important part of a school's work. The expansion of provision in this area has been a very significant part of what we have done in recent years with the extra resources. I think there are now good practice guidelines set out and schools are very enthusiastically adopting it. We are putting in the professional development support and NEPS developing materials to ensure that the schools have both the curricular content and also the know-how and good practices to support children who might be having difficulties.

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