New mental health teams to be established in primary school clusters

Clusters of primary schools in Cork, north Dublin and Carlow will have access to counselling supports on a trial basis through new education mental health teams following rising concern over anxiety levels among pupils.

In the coming days, Minister for Education Norma Foley is expected to announce the second strand of a €5 million initiative pilot project to provide counselling services in primary school settings.

It will see the establishment of “education wellbeing” or mental health teams in four clusters of primary schools in the 2023/24 school year under the direction and supervision of the National Educational Psychological Service (Neps).

The move comes as research indicates there has been a sharp increase in mental health issues and anxiety levels among pupils.

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The HSE’s child and adolescent mental health services reported a 40 per cent increase in the number of children waiting to be seen by their services last year, while ESRI research indicates a significant rise in rates of mental health problems and depression among young people.

While some commentators say the impact of Covid is a key factor being the increases, others point to potential factors such as early access to social media and smartphones or the increased “bubble-wrapping” of children’s lives.

Last month, Ms Foley announced “strand one” of the pilot, which will involve one-to-one counselling sessions for primary schools in counties Cavan, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Mayo, Monaghan and Tipperary with a Department of Education-approved counsellor.

The second strand of support, to be announced shortly, will include early intervention for individual children or groups with mild or emerging needs using “low-level therapeutically-informed approaches”.

It will also seek to build the capacity of schools to strengthen whole school preventive approaches, including the provision of psycho-education support for parents and teachers.

The provision of in-school support to these school clusters will see the introduction of a new type of support practitioner into the system – the “education wellbeing/mental health practitioner” – who will work under the supervision of Neps psychologists.

These practitioners will be graduates, ideally from graduate courses in psychology, education or social science, according to Department of Education sources.

These graduates will require additional training which will be provided by Neps psychologists and their ongoing work in schools will be under the close supervision of Neps.

Each team will comprise of one Neps psychologist and four so-called education wellbeing/mental health practitioners.

The second strand of this in-school counselling pilot is seen by Department of Education officials as an “essential element of responsive supports” needed by schools to support wellbeing and mental health.

Overall, officials estimate that 4,000-4,500 children are likely to avail of counselling services as part of the pilot.

The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) said last month that teachers have witnessed first-hand the adverse effects of mental ill-health and poor emotional wellbeing on pupils, while lengthy waiting lists for specialist services have compounded these challenges.

INTO general secretary John Boyle said on-site counselling, aligned with international best practices, was an essential component of a comprehensive mental health support system.

Prof Paul Downes, director of DCU’s Educational Disadvantage Centre, who played a key role in campaigning for in-school counselling, said schools have been reporting huge levels of need for one-to-one counselling supports.