John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

157. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the current and planned mental health supports in place for primary and secondary students; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45665/21]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My Department’s approach to supporting wellbeing and mental health is set out in its Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice first published in 2018 and refreshed in 2019. The approach proposed is a whole school and preventative approach which has multiple components that include providing children and young people with opportunities to:

- build core social and emotional skills and competencies

- experience supportive relationships within the school setting

- be part of a school environment and culture that feels both physically and psychologically safe, in which they feel a sense of belonging and connectedness, that their voice is heard, and they feel supported

Schools are encouraged to use a reflective, school self-evaluation approach to identify and prioritise the needs of its own school community in relation to the promotion of wellbeing and mental health, and to respond to meeting those needs.

Embedded in the whole-school approach is the recognition that members of the school community may have different needs at different times and that a continuum of support in relation to wellbeing should be made available.

A broad range of supports, resources and professional learning opportunities are being provided to support schools to promote and support wellbeing and resilience by the Department’s support services. The services support schools to provide strong universal support at the level of whole school and classroom, more targeted support for some children and young people who may be at risk, and more individualised support for those with greatest need. Support is provided to primary and post-primary school staff through the following services and supports:

- The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS)

- Guidance Counselling service/provision

- National Council for Special Education (NCSE)

- Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST) Wellbeing Team

- Junior Cycle for Teachers (JCT) Support Service

- Education Support Centres Ireland (ESCI)

My Department’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides a school-based, consultative, psychological service through the provision of an individual casework service for students and a support and development service for school staff.

The NEPS casework service involves the provision of a psychological service for a student, with the psychologist working with the student, teachers and parents, and other professionals if appropriate, to identify need and plan for intervention and review to support the student in school. This service can take place over an extended period of time with NEPS psychologists. This model does not operate on a waiting list basis, and extends to approximately 8000 students per annum.

The NEPS Support and Development service, reaching an estimated 25,000 teachers annually, is an applied psychological service for school staff to help build their capability to respond to the wellbeing, academic, social and emotional needs of all students, and particularly those who are experiencing barriers to their wellbeing, learning, inclusion and participation. Professional learning activities to support children/young people with social/emotional/mental health difficulties and to promote positive wellbeing in school include:

- FRIENDS:Training teachers in the delivery of the FRIENDS programmes (‘Fun Friends’, ‘Friends for Life’ and ‘My Friends Youth’), which are evidence-based anxiety prevention and resilience building programmes, which foster self-concept and a sense of school belonging using Cognitive Behavioural Therapeutically-informed approaches. Friends programmes help students to develop resilience by teaching them effective strategies to cope with, problem solve and manage all kinds of emotional distress, including worry, stress, change and anxiety. Since Covid-19 the training has been adapted to Webinar format which increases accessibility for teachers. The webinar delivery will be scaled up next year to deliver the programmes nationally to interested schools.

- INCREDIBLE YEARS: The Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management programme is a six-day, evidence-based programme that equips teachers to manage their classrooms effectively to prevent and reduce behavioural problems while promoting children’s wellbeing and emotional and social competence.

- NEPS is currently developing a range of workshops on the promotion of wellbeing and resilience in schools which include upskilling school staff on the use and implementation of therapeutically-informed approaches in schools. These include trauma-informed approaches, approaches based on the principles of cognitive behaviour therapy, and attachment-aware approaches. The approaches outlined in the workshops are based on research findings, on the experience of experts in their fields and on the experience of practising psychologists working in schools. The workshops will be available to build the capability of school staff in both primary and post-primary settings, including for school leaders, teachers and SNAs. Following a pilot of the workshops undertaken in the summer term (2021) with a mixture of DEIS, non-DEIS and urban and rural schools, the national roll-out of these workshops and webinars is planned for the next academic year.

At post primary level, a Student Support Team is a student-focused mechanism put in place by a school in order to co-ordinate the support available for students in the school and to facilitate links to the community and other non-school support services. NEPS provides support to post primary schools in the setting up or review of Student Support Teams.

Also at post primary level, counselling is a key part of the role of the Guidance Counsellor, offered on an individual or group basis as part of a developmental learning process, at moments of personal crisis but also at key transition points. Guidance allocations for all schools were increased in the 2020/21 school year. The Guidance Counsellor also identifies and supports the referral of students to external counselling agencies and professionals, as required. Each post primary school currently receives an allocation in respect of guidance provision, calculated by reference to the approved enrolment. The total number of guidance counsellor posts in the school year 2020/21 is 852.

Separately, the Department of Health has responsibility for the provision of counselling services in Ireland, and through HSE Primary Care Psychology and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) provides clinical support to children and young people with mental health needs.

In addition, the HSE and its funded providers, provide e-mental health services that offer online text and telephone supports to people seeking mental health information and advice.

These include services provided by the Samaritans, Pieta House, MyMind, Turn2Me, Aware, Crisis Text Ireland, Shine, BeLongTo, LGBT Ireland, Jigsaw, spunout, Bodywhys and Childline.

My Department – through NEPS, Student Support Teams, Guidance Counsellors and other services - will continue to signpost schools and students to the HSE/HSE-funded e-mental health services.

My Department has built strong links with the Department of Health and both Departments are exploring ways to improve supports for young people, including around increased awareness, promoting help-seeking behaviour and sign-posting to the wide range of available services. We will continue to collectively explore ways of improving supports for children and young people.