547. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding any assessment of the pilot programme for mental health supports in primary schools (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [64949/26]

548. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding any proposal to roll out mental health supports in primary schools following the findings of a pilot programme (details supplied). [64950/26]

549. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding the provision of counselling and mental health supports in secondary schools. [64951/26]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 547 to 549, inclusive, together.

My department is committed to supporting the emotional wellbeing of our children and young people. In 2023 my department launched two landmark initiatives, one to one counselling provision for children in all primary schools in Cavan, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Mayo, Monaghan and Tipperary and access to an Education Wellbeing Practitioner, a new type of in-school support in selected schools in Carlow, Cork, Dublin 7 and Dublin 16. As the Deputy will be aware, this Pilot sees direct counselling supports being provided to children in their primary school for the first time. These initiatives are being provided in addition to the other wellbeing and mental health supports provided by the Department and its agencies.

In October 2024, my department announced the extension of the Pilot to 61 urban DEIS primary schools in Tallaght, Clondalkin, Finglas, Ballymun and Darndale. The schools included in the pilot were identified by my department as supporting children from areas with some of the highest levels of disadvantage in the State. I also recently announced the extension of this counselling provision to 102 primary schools in the DEIS Plus scheme. The 102 primary and 27 post primary schools in the scheme will have access to the support of an Education Wellbeing Practitioner (EWP).

It should be noted that the provision of child and adolescent mental health services lies within the remit of the Department of Health and the HSE. The counselling service provided through the Pilot Programme is designed as an interim, early-intervention support for children with mild to moderate mental health needs. It is not intended to replace the role of the psychologist from NEPS or services provided by HSE Primary Care Psychology or CAMHS, but rather to complement and enhance the existing supports available to children and families. The pilot operates on the clear understanding that children who are attending HSE Primary Care Psychology or CAMHS should continue to engage with those services. Similarly, children who are awaiting assessment or intervention through HSE services should remain on those waiting lists. The CPS-P is designed as a supplementary support and not as a substitute for clinical assessment, diagnosis or long-term therapeutic intervention. Where a child presents with needs that require ongoing or specialist intervention, appropriate referral pathways through HSE services remain available and should be pursued.

The post primary school environment offers a variety of additional supports which are not available in primary schools, including Guidance Counselling, Student Support Teams and the Neart programme. Guidance Counselling is a key support at post primary level that provides a significant amount of personal and social counselling support to students. Student Support Teams are also a central part of the student support system in a post-primary school. Neart is a new national programme of mental health and wellbeing resources and training for post-primary schools, which have been developed by Jigsaw in partnership with NEPS and is available to all post-primary schools. 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.

In August I published an evaluation of the Counselling Pilot which was completed by the Centre for Effective Services (CES) The findings of the Evaluation highlighted the positive impact of school-based counselling and access to an Education Wellbeing Practitioner. The supports were highly valued by pupils, parents, school leaders and staff, and delivered meaningful benefits, including improvements in emotional regulation, resilience, communication skills and coping strategies. The findings demonstrate the value of early intervention and prevention focused supports in primary schools and also highlights the important role that schools can play in providing accessible, preventative and early intervention wellbeing supports.

The evaluation found that the Education Wellbeing Practitioner model demonstrated broader reach, lower costs per pupil, stronger workforce sustainability and benefits across the wider school community. The Education Wellbeing Practitioners provide enhanced in-school support and undergo an in-depth training programme provided by NEPS. The focus of the support provided 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. 20 Education Wellbeing Practitioners have been providing a weekly presence in schools in four cluster areas.

In June 2026 a new recruitment campaign was launched to further expand the number of Education Wellbeing Practitioners under the DEIS Plus Scheme, in primary schools with an extension also to post-primary schools. Recruitment is in progress and onboarding is expected to take place over the coming weeks.