Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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41. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide an update on the counselling in primary schools pilot; the counselling hours delivered to date and the number of children to benefit; the way in which this pilot is monitored and evaluated; her plans for its further rollout; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8492/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Department of Education is committed to supporting the emotional wellbeing of our children. I am delighted to update you on the Counselling in Primary Schools Pilot. Strand 1 sees direct counselling supports being provided to primary schools for the first time. The Department set up county panels of pre-approved private counsellors providing one-to-one counselling in primary schools in counties Cavan, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Mayo, Monaghan and Tipperary. To date, 39 counsellors have been recruited across the seven pilot counties. In the 2023/2024 school year 381 children availed of counselling. To date, in the 2024/2025 school year, at least 235 children have availed of counselling.

Strand 2 involves the introduction of Education Wellbeing Teams to provide enhanced in-school supports for a cluster of primary schools in Cork, Carlow, Dublin 7 and Dublin 16. To date, 20 Education Wellbeing Practitioners have been recruited to the four cluster areas. The supports pupils, parents, and school staff to support the wellbeing and resilience of the school community.

The pilot is being externally evaluated by the Centre for Effective Services, who were the successful bidder following a competitive tendering process. Through this evaluation we are confident that we will gather valuable learning that will inform future policy and provision in this area.