Ryan O'Meara (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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185. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she intends to continue and expand the counselling in primary schools pilot given that schools have not yet been informed whether this programme will continue into the next academic year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17152/25]

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. 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. My Department has 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, 41 counsellors have been recruited across the seven pilot counties. In total, 1,883 blocks of counselling have been allocated to schools across the pilot counties, which provides an allocation to 1,883 children in these counties. In the 2023/2024 school year 382 children availed of counselling under the pilot. To date, in the 2024/2025 school year, at least 364 children have availed of counselling.

In October 2024, my 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. There are currently 4 counsellors on the panel for these areas and NEPS are continuing to accept and process applications on a rolling basis.

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. The Wellbeing Practitioner is a new type of practitioner being introduced as part of this pilot to provide enhanced in-school support. The practitioners are graduates from psychology, education and social science and have undergone an in-depth training programme provided by NEPS. The focus of the support to be provided under Strand 2 is on strengthening whole school preventative approaches. This includes the provision of psycho-educational support for parents and teachers, and the provision of early intervention to children with mild/emerging need, using low-level therapeutically-informed approaches. 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.

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.