Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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124. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the actions she is taking to expand mental health supports in primary and secondary schools, including the provision of structured training and resources for teachers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16177/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The area of wellbeing and the promotion of positive mental health is a priority for the Department of Education. The Department of Education’s approach to supporting wellbeing and mental health is set out in its Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice.

The approach in the Wellbeing Policy is founded on research and best international practice in relation to how schools can best support the wellbeing and mental health of children and young people. 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

- Providing children and young people with opportunities to experience supportive relationships within the school setting and to learn through those relationships

- Providing children and young people with opportunities to be part of a school environment and culture that feels both physically and psychologically safe, an environment in which children and young people feel a sense of belonging and connectedness, in which they feel 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.

A dedicated wellbeing portal can be accessed via ‘Wellbeing in Education’ on Gov.ie, bringing together all the wellbeing and mental health supports and resources that have been developed by the Department and the Department’s support services.

The Department’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides educational psychological support to all primary and post-primary and special schools.

The NEPS service provides access for all schools to:

Psychological support in the event of a Critical Incident

- A Casework Service for individual children where there is a need for intensive consultation and assessment via a NEPS psychologist or through the Scheme for the Commissioning of Psychological Assessments (SCPA).

- A school staff Support and Development Service, to build school capability to provide a comprehensive continuum of support in schools and

- Ongoing access to advice and support for schools.

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 wellbeing, social, emotional and academic development.

The following programmes of support are delivered by NEPS:

- Incredible Years: The Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management training for primary teachers.

- FRIENDS Resilience: The evidence-based anxiety prevention and resilience building programme for all schools.

- Student Support Teams: Training and implementation support for post primary schools to review and develop their systems to support the wellbeing and welfare of all students

- Trauma Informed Practice: ‘Introducing a Trauma Informed Approach, the Stress Factor: Getting the Balance Right’ e learning and live webinars to all teachers.

- Responding to Critical Incidents eLearning Course: NEPS continue the roll out of critical incident training to all schools via an eLearning platform.

- Embracing Diversity includes looking at cultural and linguistic diversity, promoting inclusive practice in education, key psychological constructs such as bias, stereotyping and intersectionality, inclusive language and examples of good practice in schools.

- Welcome to our school: addresses how to support children and young people from international backgrounds , adopt key psychosocial principles (the Hobfoll principles) effective at addressing the wellbeing needs of those impacted by a traumatic event.

- Reluctant School Attendance and school avoidance behaviours: How to support Children and young people who display reluctant attendance and school avoidance behaviour.

- Self-Harm – Guidance for Staff: practical guidance and resources to staff working in schools supporting Children and Young People who are either self-harming or at risk of self-harm.

- Psychological First Aid - guidance to enable teachers to talk, in a comforting and supportive way, with children and young people who may have experienced a traumatic event

- Supporting children develop behaviour, emotional and social competencies and skills

Oide, the Department’s support service also provides high-quality professional learning supports to teachers and school leaders, supports for wellbeing include training on Child Protection, Junior Cycle CSPE, Junior Cycle SPHE, Senior Cycle SPHE and Wellbeing.

In June 2023, The Minister for Education announced an investment of €5 million in piloting a programme of counselling and mental health supports in primary schools in selected counties. This further supports the range of mental health and wellbeing supports already provided by the Department and the excellent work already happening in schools in relation to wellbeing.

The Counselling in Primary Schools Pilot has two strands and works to support children’s wellbeing and mental health in schools. Strand 1 sees direct counselling supports being provided to primary schools for the first time.

In October 2024, the Department announced the extension of Strand 1 of the Counselling in Primary Schools Pilot to 61 urban DEIS primary schools in Tallaght, Clondalkin, Finglas, Ballymun and Darndale. The schools that will now be included in the pilot have been identified by the Department of Education as supporting children from areas with some of the highest levels of disadvantage in the State.

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 being offered are to pupils, parents, and school staff to support the wellbeing and resilience of the school community.

These are the many areas my department has been offering training and supports to educators in schools settings in the areas of mental health and wellbeing.

Neart – the Irish word for strength, is the new national programme of mental health and wellbeing resources and training for post-primary schools that is being delivered by Jigsaw.

These comprehensive supports have been developed by Jigsaw in partnership with NEPS in the Department of Education. The programme will complement the supports already available in schools such as the provision of guidance counselling and the work of NEPS, as well as other existing wellbeing programmes and initiatives including Student Support Team training.

Additionally Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) is a mandatory part of the Primary and Junior Cycle curriculum, which provide vital opportunities for the development of children’s wellbeing in the physical, social, emotional and intellectual domains.

My Department continues to review our overall approach to fostering good mental health and wellbeing in our schools so that children can be optimally supported to reach their potential.