Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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406. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the supports currently available for student mental health in post-primary schools; if there are plans to increase school-based counselling services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25135/25]

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

There are a variety of supports available for student mental health in post-primary schools. These include, but are not exclusive to additional supports such as Student Support teams, The new Neart programme and the provision of guidance counselling.

A Student Support Team is a central part of the student support system in a post-primary school. It is the overarching team concerned with the progressing of actions for the welfare and wellbeing of all students, and a mechanism through which many of the existing student supports are co-ordinated and planned.

My Department in partnership with Jigsaw have recently announced to school leaders details of Neart: the new national programme of mental health and wellbeing resources and training for post-primary schools. The new programme complements the supports already available in schools such as the provision of guidance counselling and the work of the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS), as well as other existing wellbeing programmes and initiatives including Student Support Team training.

The NEART programme provides supports to students, parents and school staff;

Support for students will:

- enhance the capacity of Student Support Teams to actively seek and respond to the voice of young people in relation to wellbeing and mental health in schools

- provide learning opportunities for students that promote mental health and wellbeing

Support for parents will:

- enhance parent/carer involvement in wellbeing school initiatives and engagement in promoting wellbeing and mental health in the school community

- enhance Student Support Teams to actively seek and respond to the voice of parent/ guardian in relation to wellbeing and mental health in schools

- provide psychoeducation on the promotion of wellbeing/mental health for parents via webinars and e-learning opportunities.

Supports for school staff will:

- build capacity of staff to promote whole school approaches to wellbeing and mental health awareness

- enhance training and support for Student Support Teams to raise awareness of positive mental health and wellbeing

- provide e-learning opportunities for staff on mental health and wellbeing promotion

- provide wellbeing and self-care webinars and e-learning courses for school staff.

The Neart webpage - jigsaw.ie/neart/ - provides all the relevant information schools require about the programme of supports and what’s on offer throughout 2025.

Post-primary schools currently have access to Guidance Counsellors. The Guidance Counsellor can identify and support the referral of students to external counselling agencies and professionals, as required. Each post-primary school currently receives an allocation in respect of guidance provision, calculated by reference to the approved enrolment.

Separately, in June 2023, my Department launched Counselling and Mental Health Pilots in selected primary schools. Strand 1 sees one-to-one counselling supports being provided to primary schools for the first time in counties Cavan, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Mayo, Monaghan, and Tipperary. In October 2024, the pilot extended to 61 urban DEIS primary schools in Dublin Southwest and Dublin North City. Strand 2 of the pilot is the establishment of a new type of support to schools from Education Wellbeing Teams and involves the introduction of Education Wellbeing Practitioners to provide enhanced in-school supports for a cluster of primary schools in Cork, Carlow, Dublin 7, and Dublin 16. 20 Education Wellbeing Practitioners have been recruited to work with pupils, parents, and school staff to support wellbeing and resilience at a whole school level. The Counselling and Mental Health Pilots in Primary Schools are being externally evaluated by the Centre for Effective Services and this evaluation will inform future policy and provision in this area.