Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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As Minister, I am committed to inclusive education for all. My Department is fully committed to creating safe and supportive environments in schools that are welcoming and inclusive for every student.

The area of well-being and the promotion of positive mental health is a priority for my Department. This includes promoting emotional well-being and resilience and positive coping skills, which support children and young people to manage the complexities of modern life.

The Department of Education’s approach to supporting well-being and mental health is set out in its Well-being Policy Statement and Framework for Practice, which informs my Department’s extensive and ongoing work in the area of student well-being and mental health.

The main curricular avenue of supporting students’ mental health is through the Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) curriculum. SPHE is a mandatory part of the Primary and Junior Cycle curriculum, which provide vital opportunities for the development of children’s well-being in the physical, social, emotional and intellectual domains.

Following on from a 2019 National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) review of RSE across primary and post-primary, an updated Junior Cycle SPHE specification was published by the NCCA in May 2023 and was rolled out for first years in all schools from September. It places a strong focus on the development of important life skills that young people need growing up in a fast changing and complex world. The specification is grounded in values of respect, equality, inclusivity, responsibility, dignity, compassion and empathy.

The updated Junior Cycle SPHE specification consists of four strands: ‘Understanding Myself and Others’, ‘Making Healthy Choices’, ‘Relationships and Sexuality’, and ‘Emotional Well-being’.

The learning outcomes of the ‘Emotional Well-being’ strand include, amongst others, that students should be able to ‘discuss the fluid nature of emotional well-being and ways to nurture and protect it’, to ‘consider the impact of stress and draw upon a variety of techniques to help self-regulate emotions and cope with the day-to-day stresses of life’, and to ‘ discuss ways to support themselves and others in challenging times and where/how/when to seek support, if needed’.

Work is ongoing to update the SPHE specification for Senior Cycle and a draft specification was published for consultation in July this year, with the consultation running until 3rd November last. This specification is intended to be rolled out in schools from September 2024.

The draft specification includes a strand called ‘Health and Well-being’. The learning outcomes of this strand include that students should be able to ‘explore the factors that influence mental health and well-being, including the influence of family, peers, societal attitudes, media, technology, alcohol and drugs, and one’s sense of self’, to ‘recognise unhelpful thinking patterns and negative self-talk and how these can affect emotions and behaviour’, to ‘recognise the signs and symptoms of stress and anxiety in themselves and others and recognise when help should be sought, where to go and how to access help if needed’, and to ‘discuss healthy and unhealthy ways of responding to stress and anxiety’.

It is expected that the draft specification for primary schools will be published in 2024, with a public consultation to follow this and the aim is that it will be introduced in primary schools in 2025.

Schools are encouraged to use a reflective, school self-evaluation approach to identify and prioritise the needs of their own school community in relation to the promotion of well-being and mental health, and to respond to meeting those needs. To support schools in this work the Department funded Teacher Education Support Service, Oide, provides training to schools to ensure that the promotion of well-being is at the core of the ethos of every school. The role of Oide’s Health and Well-being teams are to support leaders, teachers and schools in the development and promotion of students’ emotional, social, personal and physical health and well-being in the context of a positive health-promoting school environment.

The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) of the Department provides a comprehensive, school-based psychological service to all primary and post primary schools through the application of psychological theory and practice to support the well-being, academic, social and emotional development of all learners. NEPS have lead responsibility for Well-being Policy Implementation and NEPS teams offer training and guidance for teachers in the provision of universal and targeted evidence-informed approaches and early intervention to promote children’s well-being, social, emotional and academic development.

A dedicated well-being portal is also available, bringing together all the well-being supports and resources that have been developed by the Department and the Department’s support services, which is available under ‘Well-being for Education’ on gov.ie.

In terms of teacher training, programmes accredited by the Teaching Council, in accordance with Céim: Standards for Initial Teacher Education (2020), are designed to ensure that tomorrow’s teachers are competent to meet the challenges they will face, and are prepared to be lifelong learners, continually adapting over the course of their careers to enable them to support their pupils in achieving their full potential. These standards require that graduates from ITE have experienced foundation studies, professional studies (incorporating pedagogy of the curriculum for the appropriate age group/s) and school placement, as well as core elements such as inclusive education and Global Citizenship Education.