Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My Department is strongly supportive of the promotion of positive mental health awareness in schools. The Department adopts a holistic and integrated approach to supporting the work of schools in promoting positive mental health and to supporting those with the broad range of problems, behavioural emotional and social.

The processes span the curriculum in schools, whole-school ethos, quality of teaching, learning and assessment, student support and pastoral care and the provision of professional development for teachers. It also involves other supports such as educational psychological services and guidance and counselling services, and the interface with other agencies, both nationally and locally. Schools also engage in a wide range of sport and cultural co-curricular activities which provide an important opportunity for students to experience success and personal growth.

Wellbeing Guidelines for Post-Primary and more recently for Primary Schools have been produced by my Department in conjunction with the Department of Health and the Health Service Executive. The guidelines are informed by consultation with key Education and Health partners and by the findings of current research. They provide practical guidance to schools on how they can promote mental health and well-being in an integrated school-wide way and they also provide evidence-based advice on how to support young people with mental health difficulties or who may be at risk of suicidal behaviour. The guidelines have and are being provided to schools and are being promoted and supported by the staff of NEPS, TES and the HSE.

The Guidelines build on the significant work already taking place in schools, including through the Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) curriculum, the whole-school guidance plan, the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) continuum of support model and the HSE, Health Promoting Schools Process. Information is also provided on how to access support from the SPHE Support Service and other external agencies and support services.

Staff training forms a component of the supports available to teachers in first and second level schools for a range of whole school and curricular processes which form the broad-based mental health and well-being provision. Such training is provided and funded from within my own Department (SPHE including R.S.A & P.E., in Child Protection, Guidance Planning, Anti –Bullying, resilience and behavioural support), from other governmental agencies (e.g. Health Promoting Schools, suicide prevention) and from individual school engagement with a variety of outside mental health organisations or bodies.

My Department's Teacher Education Section expended in 2014 some €1.68m directly on teacher training for mental health related initiatives/processes. Additionally my Department's NEPS service estimates that it expended a further €0.72m in the same period based, in the main, on staff time input supporting teachers in NEPS continuum, the Wellbeing Guidelines, Critical Incident management and on behavioural or anxiety reduction programmes such as Incredible Years and Friends for Life. I can inform the Deputy that expenditure in the previous two year was broadly in line with this expenditure and that it is envisaged that this years' investment will be of the same order if not exceed it in support of the application of the wellbeing guidelines and structures in schools. The above costs do not include training provided to teachers by other governmental agencies or funded from schools discretionary funds.

I can assure the Deputy of my Department's and Government's commitment to these crucial processes in our schools and of the adequacy of ongoing support mechanisms in place in this regard.