Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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444. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of NEPs psychologists there are, in tabular form. [16573/25]

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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457. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of NEPs psychologists in primary schools in every county, in tabular form. [16588/25]

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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458. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of NEPs psychologists in post-primary schools in every county, in tabular form. [16589/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 444, 457 and 458 together.

I would like to thank Deputy Cummins for her questions regarding my Department’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS).

NEPS provides psychological support to all primary, post-primary, and special schools including:

• Psychological support in the event of a Critical Incident.
• A casework service for individual students 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.
• Ongoing access to advice and support for schools.

It may be useful to outline briefly the approach NEPS psychologists work with schools using a problem-solving model to help schools identify need and implement interventions to support those needs. As part of this model, NEPS encourages schools to use a continuum-based assessment and intervention process whereby each school takes responsibility for initial assessment, educational planning and intervention support for children and young people with wellbeing, learning and/or social-emotional needs. This model means that children and young people do not need to have a psychological assessment or a diagnosis of a disability in order to access additional support in school. The psychologists may work directly with the child/young person, known as Direct Casework and this includes assessment, or the psychologist may work through teachers or teachers/parents to provide a psychological service for a child/young person, to be known as Indirect Casework.