Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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75. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the training and resources provided to teachers and school staff to identify and support students experiencing mental health difficulties; if there are plans to expand these supports; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52472/25]

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 and Youth. This includes promoting emotional wellbeing and resilience and positive coping skills, which support children and young people to manage the complexities of modern life.

The department’s approach to supporting wellbeing and mental health is set out in its Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice. This policy informs the Department’s extensive and ongoing work in the area of student wellbeing. The Department of Education is now undertaking a wide review to produce an updated Wellbeing Policy and implementation plan for its successor from 2026 onwards which is anticipated will be aligned to continued, adapted or new areas of focus with timelines and performance indicators.

‎A dedicated wellbeing portal has also been developed and is now available, bringing together all the wellbeing supports and resources that have been developed by the Department and the Department’s support services, which are available to view at: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/campaigns/wellbeing-in-education/

The portal includes the Catalogue of Resources which provides a non-exhaustive list of documents and resources that are provided by the Department of Education & Youth, its agencies, support services, other Government Departments and their agencies and by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to assist the promotion of wellbeing across school communities.

- Wellbeing Information for school staff - primary: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/publications/wellbeing-information-for-school-staff-primary/#catalogue-of-wellbeing-resources-primary

- Wellbeing information for school staff - post primary: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/publications/wellbeing-information-for-school-staff-post-primary/#catalogue-of-wellbeing-resources-post-primary

The Catalogue of Resources can be used alongside the Directory of Teacher Professional Learning (TPL) which lists relevant TPL to support the wellbeing of all in the school communities. There are many professional learning opportunities available to support teachers and school leaders to engage with aspects of wellbeing. The TPL Wellbeing Directory provides an overview of the opportunities provided by the Department of Education & Youth, its agencies, support services, other Government Departments and their agencies and includes information on how to access these supports.

Wellbeing information for school staff - primary: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/publications/wellbeing-information-for-school-staff-primary/#teacher-professional-learning-directory

Wellbeing information for school staff - post primary: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/publications/wellbeing-information-for-school-staff-post-primary/#teacher-professional-learning-directory

I would also like to draw your attention to some of the supports currently available in post-primary schools to support students including access to counselling which is a key part of the role of the Guidance Counsellor, offered on an individual or group basis as part of a developmental learning process, at moments of personal crisis but also at key transition points. Also at post primary a Student Support Team is a student-focused mechanism put in place by a school in order to co-ordinate the support available for students in the school and to facilitate links to the community and other non-school support services. Jigsaw, in partnership with the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS)/Department of Education & Youth, provides a comprehensive suite of mental health and wellbeing resources, training and programmes for post-primary schools through Neart. Neart supports schools to provide learning opportunities for students to promote mental health and wellbeing, as well as mental health webinars and eLearning courses for school staff, Student Support Teams and parents. A full outline of all Neart supports and resources on offer for the 2025/26 academic year is available here: d2nklej7l2bs3q.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Neart-Programme-Areas-2025-2026-1.pdf

The Department has built strong links with the Department of Health and both Departments are exploring ways to improve supports for young people, including around increased awareness, promoting help-seeking behaviour, sign-posting to the wide range of available services and training for school staff. It is also important to point out that the provision of child and adolescent mental health services lies specifically within the remit of the Department of Health and the HSE. HSE Primary Care Psychology Services and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) provide a range of clinical support to children and young people with mental health needs. When a parent has significant concerns about their child’s mental health, they can request a referral to the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services from their GP. The GP may also be able to signpost to other relevant support services.