Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)
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Question 198: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to introduce a daily programme that incorporates mental health issues into the school curriculum from a very early age that would run in tandem with our current education system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27000/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Social Personal and Health Education (SPHE) is a mandatory part of the curriculum in primary schools and in junior cycle since 2003 and is designed, inter alia, to promote positive mental health. SPHE is supported by comprehensive teacher guidelines and a curriculum support service which provide training and advice for schools and a resource directory. The Department has also issued guidelines to schools on the development of whole-school policies in the areas such as anti-bullying, RSE, substance use, managing critical incidents, whole-school guidance planning etc which are also important in promoting positive mental health.

Pastoral care supports are promoted in schools through year heads, key tutor systems, home/school links, etc. This is one of the areas which is evaluated as part of a Whole School Evaluation. Schools also engage in a wide range of sport and cultural activities which provide an important opportunity for students to experience success and personal growth.

The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) operating within the Department provides a range of services both direct and indirect which support the personal, social and educational development of students in primary and post primary schools. NEPS also provides assistance in supporting pupils with particular social, emotional or behavioural difficulties. NEPS promotes the development of structures and supports among teachers and schools' care teams which assist and encourage the development of contact and collaboration with the relevant local HSE mental health agencies including the Community Psychology Services and Mental Health Promotion Officers and the referral services of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAHMS).

This Government has protected education as much as it can. Far greater reductions in expenditure and in the number of public servants are being made in other sectors relative to those in schools. But there are limits to the level of expenditure on education and the number of teaching posts we can afford. My Department has published Circular 0009/2012 to inform all post primary school management and staff of the staffing arrangements for post-primary schools for the 2012/13 school year, including in particular, the requirements to manage guidance from within the standard allocation. The circular is available on the Department website.