Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

17. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the existing or planned measures to ensure that primary school teachers are sufficiently trained to deal with mental health issues that may arise with regard to their pupils; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31701/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My Department adopts a holistic and integrated approach to supporting the work of schools in promoting positive mental health. The process spans the curriculum in schools, whole school ethos, quality of teaching, learning and assessment, student support and pastoral care and the provision of professional support for teachers. It also involves other supports such as educational psychological services and the interface with other agencies, both nationally and locally.

All primary initial teacher education programmes include psychology of education, sociology of education and curricular studies including the implementation of the Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) curriculum which is taught at all class levels. The SPHE curriculum provides particular opportunities to foster the personal development, well-being, and social and emotional health of the individual child.

To support schools, my Department has produced and distributed the Well-Being in Primary Schools: Guidelines for Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention (2015). These guidelines are informed by consultation with key Education and Health partners, and by current research. They assist schools and the school community in (a) supporting and responding to the mental health and well-being needs of our children and (b) in providing a safe and supportive environment for building life skills and resilience and a strong sense of connectedness to school. My Department’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) is actively assisting schools and school communities in this regard.

Professional development services are provided by my Department to support teachers in addressing and dealing with mental health issues. These services provide support across a continuum: from whole-school and classroom level, to support for some children and support for a few children. At primary level, continuing professional development is provided through:

- The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) which provides guidance for schools in managing and responding to critical incidents; and training in the delivery by teachers of programmes, including the Incredible Yearsprogramme, which aims to prevent and treat young children's behaviour problems and promote their social, emotional, and academic competence;

- The Professional Development Service for Teachers provides professional development support to teachers and schools to develop and promote student health and well-being, including mental health, in the context of a positive health promoting school environment. In 2016, there were 8, 535 CPD engagements with teachers in this area through seminars, workshops and in school support;

- The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) Support Service, will support teachers in addressing the needs of pupils with special educational needs, including needs which relate to their mental health;

- Supports are also provided through the Association of Teachers’ Education Centres in Ireland (ATECI) summer courses, the Irish Primary Principals Network (IPPN), the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD) and the Centre for School Leadership.

A key theme of my Department’s 2017 Action Plan for Education is the support of well-being initiatives to ensure that mental resilience and personal well-being are integral parts of the education and training system. Specifically, the Plan commits to the commencement of the roll-out of the Friends for Life programme and the Incredible Years Classroom Management programme to teachers in all DEIS schools. NEPS will deliver both programmes commencing in the autumn and are currently in the process of recruiting an additional 11 psychologist staff to undertake this work.

It is planned that during the coming academic year, some 40 Friends programmes will be organised involving some 1,000 primary and post-primary teachers and 50 Incredible Years programmes will be offered to some 1,000 primary school teachers at the commencement of a three year roll-out of the training.