Written Answers Nos. 375-390
375. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú asked the Minister for Education , further to Parliamentary Question No. 173 of 10 October, when it is envisaged that her Department’s consideration of the HP Deprivation Index, generated by Pobal, along with the engagement with other relevant stakeholders regarding DEIS status for schools, will be completed and ready for implementation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43074/24]
View answerIn response to the Deputy’s two previous Parliamentary Questions regarding this matter, I outlined that the OECD review sets a number of recommendations for future policy, to improve equity and ensure every child and young person at risk of educational disadvantage is supported to achieve their potential in education.
Over the coming months my Department will work with other Departments and agencies, the education partners, and stakeholders across the education sector to develop tangible actions informed by the recommendations set out by the OECD. These actions will aim to build on the success of the DEIS programme through the development of a dynamic resource allocation model that can respond to changing levels of need and ensure that all children and young people in both DEIS and non-DEIS schools are supported to achieve in education.
While specific timelines are dependent on the outcomes of these collaborative discussions, my officials are committed to advancing this process in a methodical and inclusive manner.
376. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education if a local secondary school place can be facilitated in the case of the daughter of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43079/24]
View answerI can assure the Deputy that the provision of school places to meet the needs of children and young people at primary and post primary level, including children and young people with special educational needs is an absolute priority for the Department of Education.
In line with the Department's demographic projections of post primary school place requirements, there has been a continued growth in enrolments throughout many School Planning Areas in North Kildare. In response, the Department has invested significantly in schools in County Kildare over recent years. Since 2020, over €310m has been invested in schools in County Kildare. This investment has focused on provision of additional capacity to cater for its increasing population and there are further significant projects in our pipeline including for the North Kildare area.
At a national level, Ireland has been experiencing growth in overall post primary enrolments and this is projected to continue in many parts of the country for the next number of years before beginning to decline. However, first year enrolments nationally are expected to have peaked in the 2023/24 school year and are now beginning to decline. Across North Kildare there are almost 250 more first year places available for the 2025/26 school year than sixth class children.
Nevertheless, the Department has been putting in place a number of measures to support parents and post-primary schools, including in North Kildare, with a view to helping the admissions process for 2025/26 run as smoothly as possible.
Firstly, the Department has written to all parents and guardians of children in sixth class with advice and guidance regarding the admissions process for post-primary for the 2025/26 school year. This letter advised parents to apply to multiple schools in areas where there is high demand and requested parents to take steps to avoid holding multiple places.
Secondly, the Department has improved the central Post-Primary On-line Database IT system that schools use to register student enrolments. This is an important improvement and is available to assist schools to manage the enrolment process and provide real-time notification to schools where a new student has accepted a school place in more than one school. This will help identify duplicate enrolments at a very early stage.
Furthermore, the successful data-sharing arrangements that were implemented for the 2024/25 admissions process in areas of enrolment pressure will be put in place again for the 2025/26 process, including for areas in North Kildare. It is expected that, as in previous years, the data sharing will provide confidence that there is sufficient school place availability in the majority of areas. However, if a shortfall of places is identified in an area, the Department will work with schools to put the necessary solutions in place.
The Educational Welfare Services of the Child and Family Agency, Tusla, is the statutory agency that can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child. The local service is delivered through the national network of Educational Welfare Officers. Contact details are available on Tusla’s website.
My Department will continue to keep the school place requirements in Sallins, as with other areas across the country, under review.
377. Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked the Minister for Education the number of new school buildings delivered from 2020 to date in 2024 in Dún Laoghaire; the number of new schools established from 2020 to date in 2024; the number of schools awaiting a new school building each year from 2020 to 2024 to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43084/24]
View answerSince 2020, my department has invested over €5 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the completion of over 950 school building projects and with construction currently underway at approximately 350 other projects, which includes 37 new school buildings. These 350 projects currently at construction involve a total State investment of over €1.5bn.
The department announced earlier this year that close to 90 projects, including 28 new school buildings, would be authorised to proceed from tender stage to construction over the course of 2024 and early 2025. In total, around €800 million will be invested in these projects under the department’s Large Scale Capital Programme and Additional Accommodation Scheme for essential classroom accommodation.
Between projects currently under construction and projects moving to construction in this latest phase, investments by the Department of Education are adding over 550,000 square metres of new and modernised capacity to our school estate.
This is a record level of investment in school buildings. It will expand the number of school places, significantly increase provision for special education and upgrade and modernise our school infrastructure. The impact of this will be felt in communities, right around the country.
The key drivers of capital investment in the schools’ sector include:
demographic growth, particularly at post-primary level;
increased demand for special educational needs provision;
alignment of school place provision with new housing development; and
climate action objectives including deep energy retrofit.
There was one new school delivered in Dun Laoghaire between 2020 and to date in 2024. Please see details below:
Cherrywood ETNS (RN20535E), Project Brief: new 24 classroom primary school + 2 class SEN, completed in 2023.
There were two new primary schools established since 2020 and to date in 2024 in Dún Laoghaire. Please see details below:
Cherrywood ETNS (RN20535E) established in 2020; and
Sallynoggin Killiney ETNS (RN20543D) established in 2022.
There was one new post-primary school established as a regional solution to serve the Booterstown_Blackrock and Dún Laoghaire school planning areas but is not located within the Dún Laoghaire constituency boundary. Please see details below:
Blackrock ETSS (RN68387K) established in 2021.
There are 10 schools in Dun Laoghaire with projects at various stages of planning and delivery. Please see details below:
St. Michael's House Special School Rathgar (RN18671A)
Ballyowen Meadows Special School (RN19355S)
Dún Laoghaire ETNS (RN20503O)
Gaelscoil Laighean (RN20518E)
Cherrywood Post Primary School (announced in 2018, timing of establishment is under review)
Bray Woodbrook Shanganagh Primary School (RN20536G)
Sallynoggin ETNS (20543D)
Sallynoggin Killiney DLR Cherrywood Primary School (RN20544F)
Holy Child Community School (RN91330K)
St. Brigid's Boys National School (RN16352U)
Further information on all current school building projects is available on the Department webpage at:
www.gov.ie/en/organisation/department-of-education/
378. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Education if she will provide an update on the provision of two additional classrooms for a school (details supplied). [43095/24]
View answerThe school to which the Deputy refers was recently granted approval for the provision of two special educational needs classrooms under my department's Devolved SEN Reconfiguration and Modular Accommodation programme. This programme involves the use of Project Management supports which is designed to enable the accommodation to be provided as quickly as possible and help ease the administrative workload for school authorities in relation to the management and delivery of projects. The use of the Department’s Term Maintenance Framework also assists in ensuring lead-in periods for the procurement of contractors are minimised to the greatest extent possible.
Detailed design documentation has been submitted and reviewed by Department officials. A response has issued to the project manager concerned and a request for additional information made. When this is received the project will be given further consideration for progression to the next stage.
380. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Education to outline what the €2 million allocated in budget 2024 for “attendance and retention – measures for implementation” relates to; what it has been allocated for and used for; the amount of it which has been spent to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43109/24]
View answerUnder Budget 2024 I secured €2 million to fund measures to support the attendance and retention the most educationally disadvantaged children.
I was glad today, 22 October 2024, to announce one measure under this funding, 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.
Research on addressing the impact of educational disadvantage, including the OECD Review of Resourcing Schools to Address Educational Disadvantage in Ireland, have highlighted the negative impact of social deprivation on well-being and educational outcomes.
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.
This extension will provide access to the Counselling in Primary Schools pilot to 56 DEIS Urban Band 1 schools and 5 DEIS Urban Band 2 schools in two clusters:
1. Dublin Southwest and
2. North Dublin City.
The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) on behalf of the Department will establish panels of pre-approved private counsellors to provide in-person one-to-one counselling to support the primary schools in these clusters.
Participating schools will be allocated blocks of up to eight counselling sessions per child for a small number of children in the school. Sessions are book-ended by a pre and post-session meeting with parents/legal guardians and relevant school staff (in addition to the six sessions for the child). Participating schools are advised centrally of their specific allocation. Schools are responsible for commissioning counsellors from the panel to provide the counselling under the CPSP. Schools agree with the counsellors dates and times of the sessions, subject to their allocation. The counselling is provided by the counsellor in-person, in the school during school hours.
Further plans for the allocation and use of the funding provided under Budget 2024, for increasing services in school retention and completion programmes and supports targeted at the most educationally disadvantaged children are being finalised.
381. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Education , further to Parliamentary Question No. 190 of 24 September, where she stated the matter was dealt with in "accordance with the Department’s procedures"; if she can confirm that failing to give neither an acknowledgement nor a reply is in line with such procedures; to outline, in relation to the contention that "in this instance, the relevant procedures were adhered to", the reason the recommendation from the Ombudsman for Children that the matter be investigated was ignored; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43110/24]
View answerIn June 2021 my Department issued correspondence to the complainant outlining how the allegations would be dealt with. As outlined in my previous response, any concern or allegation of a child protection nature received by staff in the Department of Education is dealt with in accordance with the Department’s Procedures for responding to Child Protection Concerns which come to the attention of staff employed by the Department of Education. In this instance, the relevant procedures were adhered to and Tusla, An Garda Síochána and the relevant school authority were informed of the concern raised.
As stated previously, under these procedures, the Department does not make any judgement on the concerns which come to its attention and ensures that the details of the concern are immediately passed on to the relevant authorities, that is Tusla - the Child and Family Agency, and An Garda Síochána. The school authority is also informed of the alleged concern received.
The Ombudsman for Children advised that the matter be investigated. Tusla has statutory responsibility to assess all reports of child welfare and protection concerns. Tusla assesses the information received and the child and family’s situation and provides appropriate social work intervention and family support services. The role of An Garda Síochána is to investigate alleged crimes. Where it is suspected that a crime has been committed, An Garda Síochána has overall responsibility for the direction of any criminal investigation. It is the function of An Garda Síochána to interview and take any statements that will form part of the criminal investigation file. The Department of Education has no powers to investigate child protection concerns.
382. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education the number of applications currently with the emergency works grant scheme as of 15 October; and the value of those works within the applications, in tabular form. [43129/24]
View answerThe purpose of the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies, or to provide funding to facilitate inclusion and access for pupils with special needs. It does so by ensuring the availability of funding for urgent works to those schools that are in need of resources as a result of an emergency situation.
An emergency is deemed to be a situation which poses an immediate risk to health, life, property or the environment, which is sudden, unforeseen and requires immediate action, and in the case of a school, if not corrected would prevent the school or part thereof from opening.
The EWS is intended to remedy an emergency situation and usually provides only an interim measure until a permanent solution can be delivered and, as such, the EWS operates on the basis of a minimal scope works.
Due to the nature of the EWS, the EWS team endeavours to are deal with applications in an expedited manner. However, given the devolved nature of the EWS and the number of stages at which approval and further correspondence are required it is not practical to provide an accurate number of applications currently within the EWS as these would all be at varying stages of progression.
However, in order to be of assistance to the Deputy, the EWS team has summarised the current level of application 'awaiting assessment' on the EWS system. This refers to applications that have either not yet been assessed or have been assessed by the admin team and further information is being sought before these projects are sent for technical review or approved. Due to the nature of the EWS and its criteria. schools often fail to provide all the necessary information in the initial application (such as an accurate costing estimate) and this requires the admin team to request further information. In instances such as these the application is still deemed to be awaiting assessment although in most cases the EWS team has corresponded with the school in question and the application is progressing.
Currently my Department has 192 applications awaiting assessment on the EWS system. It is not feasible to provide a value of works for these 192 applications as the values provided by the schools in the schools initial application is an estimated costing that is rarely in line with the minimal scope of works criteria on which the EWS operates. As a result, in practice, the scope of works and associated cost of works that gets approved by the EWS is usually significantly less than the costs sought in the schools initial application. The value of these 192 applications as presented in the schools initial application totals in the region of €385m but this cost is anticipated to be reduced significantly before approval.
Finally, it should be noted that the number of EWS applications received in 2024 is likely to exceed 1,250 applications for 2024 and the level of applications awaiting assessment may not all refer to the year 2024 as some schools may not avail of EWS funding that is applied for and/or reply to requests for further information which skews the statistics.
383. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Education details of the current policy regarding maximum commute times for special needs children availing of school transport services; the way in which the Department ensures that transport arrangements are in line with the needs of these students, particularly in respect of minimising travel times; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43135/24]
View answerThe School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2023/24 school year over 163,800 children, including over 136,000 pupils travelling on primary and post-primary services, 20,200 pupils with special educational needs, and 7,400 pupils who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.
The total cost of the scheme in 2023 was €382.02m.
Over 140,000 mainstream tickets have issued for the 2024/2025 school year, which is already 3% more than the total tickets issued for the full 2023/2024 school year.
Bus Éireann is responsible for the planning and timetabling of school transport routes on behalf of my Department. Bus Éireann endeavours, within available resources, to ensure that each eligible child has a reasonable level of school transport service in the context of the Scheme nationally.
In relation to mainstream school transport, where practicable and subject to consideration of costs and logistics, routes are planned to avoid an eligible child having to travel more than 2.4 kms at primary level and 3.2 kms at post-primary level to or from a pick up/set down point or to have travel and waiting times in excess of 1.5 hours at primary level and 2.5 hours at post-primary level per day. Routes are planned on the basis of the locations of children who are eligible only.
In relation to pupils travelling on the School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs, it is not always possible to secure a suitable placement in a local school and children and occasionally required to travel some distance to their school of attendance, due to the specialist nature of the placement involved. However, if a concern is raised regarding the level of time a pupil is travelling on a service, this is investigated by School Transport Section and Bus Éireann and any adjustments that can be made to the service to reduce the travel time are examined.
If families have any particular queries they can contact School Transport Section directly at school_transport@education.gov.ie where officials in the Department will be happy to assist.
384. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Education the number of vacant properties owned by her Department; and the number of which are houses or residential properties. [43140/24]
View answerI refer to my previous answer on this issue to the Deputy in PQ 13820/24 in April of this year. The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the table below. There has been one addition to the list since the data was provided to the Deputy in April 2024 and this is the last entry in the table. There are currently seven vacant properties (for which there are no building projects planned or in train). As informed previously, this is a position that can evolve and is kept under review.
By way of information the number of properties owned by my Department is very small. A large majority of schools are patron-owned with only approximately 9% of schools in Ministerial ownership nationwide.
|
Property |
Location |
Comment |
Size |
|
Land in Ballincollig |
County Cork |
Purchased in 2002 to facilitate a sports hall for two nearby schools. Due to budget priorities at the time the sports hall wasn’t built. It may be disposed of in the future or retained for future school accommodation use depending on the needs of the area. |
0.045 hectares |
|
Gaeilscoil Bhríde |
County Tipperary |
Purchased in 1995 for Gaeilscoil Bhríde but a new school was built on the existing site instead. Land is being retained should it be needed for development and educational purposes in the future. |
1.6 hectare site |
|
Aghina, Caum |
County Cork |
Purchased in 2009 to replace the existing Aghina National School but that school subsequently closed. It was offered for the ‘Housing for All’ initiative recently but was deemed not suitable. |
1.57 hectare site |
|
Croghan |
County Roscommon |
Purchased in 2007 to relocate Rathcroghan National School on the site but that school subsequently closed. It was offered for the ‘Housing for All’ initiative but was deemed not suitable at the time. |
0.6 hectare site |
|
Crinion Park |
County Wicklow |
Purchased in 2002 as a permanent site for Gaeilscoil Chill Mhaintáin but it was subsequently not required for this particular purpose. Wicklow Educate Together Secondary School was temporarily located on the site from 2019 until the summer of 2021. It was recently considered by Kildare Wicklow ETB for file storage but this was not considered necessary. It was offered for the ‘Housing for All’ and the Ukrainian Humanitarian Crisis initiatives but was deemed not suitable. It may be used in the future for further temporary accommodation. |
0.6 hectare site |
|
Carna |
County Galway |
Transferred to the Department in 2007. It was offered for the ‘Housing for All’ and the Ukrainian Humanitarian Crisis initiatives but was deemed not suitable. |
0.6 hectare field |
|
Harold's Cross |
Dublin 6 |
The Department is currently examining additional education opportunities in relation to this house and its long term use. It was acquired as part of the overall purchase of the former Harold's Cross Greyhound Stadium. |
Part of 6 acre site |
385. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education if she is aware that bus escorts for children have not had a pay increase since 2020; if she will engage with this group of workers (details supplied) with the view of providing an increase in wages; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43164/24]
View answerThe School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2023/24 school year over 163,800 children, including over 136,000 pupils travelling on primary and post-primary services, 20,200 pupils with special educational needs, and 7,400 pupils who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.
The total cost of the scheme in 2023 was €382.02m.
Over 140,000 mainstream tickets have issued for the 2024/2025 school year, which is already 3% more than the total tickets issued for the full 2023/2024 school year.
There is a facility within the Special Educational Needs Transport Scheme for the appointment of a School Transport Escort where a child’s care and safety needs while on school transport are such as to require the support of a School Transport Escort.
The Department of Education provides grant funding for the employment of the School Transport Escort and sets the rate of pay. The Board of Management/ETB are responsible for the employment of the School Transport Escort.
It is recognised that School Bus Escorts play a vital role in supporting children with Special Educational Needs in their journey to and from school.
A review of the School Transport Scheme has been completed. This review was conducted with a view to examining the current scheme, its broader effectiveness, and sustainability and to ensure it services students and their families adequately. As a recommended action arising from the review, the Department committed to carrying out a comprehensive analysis of matters as they relate to the escort's pay, and the information provided to schools as the employer of the escort.
An information pack for schools was recently completed and has now issued to schools. The pay rate for School Bus Escorts is currently being reviewed. It is planned that this action will be completed before the end of Q4 2024.
386. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Education to provide an update on the provision of a new building for a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43165/24]
View answerI can confirm to the Deputy, that the Department currently has an application for capital funding for additional accommodation from the school in question.
Since 2020, the department has invested over €5 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the completion of over 950 school building projects and with construction currently underway at approximately 350 other projects, which includes 37 new school buildings. These 350 projects currently at construction involve a total State investment of over €1.5bn.
The Department announced earlier in the year that close to 90 projects, including 28 new school buildings, would be authorised to proceed from tender stage to construction over the course of 2024 and early 2025. In total, around €800 million will be invested in these projects under the department’s Large Scale Capital Programme and Additional Accommodation Scheme for essential classroom accommodation.
Between projects currently under construction and projects moving to construction in this latest phase, investments by the Department of Education are adding over 550,000 square metres of new and modernised capacity to our school estate.
This is a record level of investment in school buildings. It will expand the number of school places, significantly increase provision for special education and upgrade and modernise our school infrastructure. The impact of this will be felt in communities right around the country.
The application is currently being assessed by officials in the Department and the school will be contacted directly when a decision has been made.
387. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Education when a newly qualified teacher (details supplied) will receive payment in view of having worked since 29 August 2024 and receiving no payment to date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43166/24]
View answerMy Department provides a payroll service to primary schools.
The Department relies on the schools to input claims for payment onto the Department's Online Claims System. The teacher referred to by the Deputy will receive payment of salary, including arrears on Thursday 24th October 2024.
389. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Education to consider instating a further DEIS band (details supplied) for students in generationally disadvantaged areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43193/24]
View answerThe Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) Programme is a key policy initiative of my department to address concentrated educational disadvantage at school level.
My department now spends over €180 million annually providing additional supports to just under 1,200 schools in the DEIS programme. This includes an additional €32 million allocated following my announcement to extend the programme from September 2022. This means that approximately 240,000 students, or one in four of all students are now supported in the programme.
Within the DEIS programme, 306 primary schools with the highest levels of educational disadvantage are included in DEIS Urban Band 1. In my time as Minister, I have provided three improvements to the staffing allocation for these schools. DEIS Urban Band 1 schools receive access to an enhanced staffing allocation of one teacher for every 17 pupils for junior schools, one teacher for every 19 pupils for combined schools, and one teacher for every 21 pupils for senior schools. This means that children in DEIS Urban Band 1 schools have more contact time with their teachers. DEIS Urban Band 1 schools also have access to the support of Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) coordinators , access to the school completion programme and receive additional funding by way of a DEIS grant. The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides priority access to their services for schools in this DEIS band. School leaders and teachers in these schools also receive priority access to professional learning through Oide, in order to support them to meet the needs of their pupils.
However, I am aware of the proposal referred to by the Deputy and I have met with a selection of the principals of the schools involved. I recognise that more work is required to ensure that all children, regardless of background, have the opportunity to achieve their potential in education.
That is why my department has undertaken a programme of work to explore the allocation of resources to schools to address educational disadvantage. To support this work, my department has invited the OECD Strength Through Diversity: Education for Inclusive Societies Project to review the current policy approach for the allocation of resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage in Ireland. This review found that while Ireland has a comparatively equitable education system, and the DEIS programme is a key instrument in that, gaps remains in relation to the outcomes for children from areas of high deprivation.
The OECD review was complimented by a programme of work by my department to develop a future policy for resource allocation to address educational disadvantage. This work involved consultations with around 250 principals and teachers of both primary and post-primary schools. This included a number of principals from these most acutely disadvantaged schools and provided rich data for the team to inform this work.
Therefore, please be assured that this work will consider the issues and barriers that are impacting children and young people in schools with the highest concentrations of educational disadvantage. The findings of this report, together with the broad range of consultations and analysis being undertaken by my department are currently being considered to inform future policy in this area.
390. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Education if her Department has considered providing teacher allocations and-or funding to schools to resource trauma-informed approaches; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43194/24]
View answerMy Department is committed to supporting the emotional wellbeing of all children including those who may have experienced trauma.
The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) of the Department has engaged in extensive national training of school staff in the area of trauma-informed practice and has developed an eLearning course for school staff - ‘Introducing a Trauma Informed Approach: The Stress Factor - Getting the Balance Right’, which looks at the sources and impact of stress on children and young people including trauma and adverse experiences. It demonstrates how to create environments to reduce stress and focuses on developing skills that all children and young people need to better manage in school. 3,420 teachers have enrolled in this programme. NEPS psychologists are available, when requested to support implementation of trauma informed practice in schools.
Assistant Principals in schools work in teams in collaboration with Principals/Deputy Principals and have shared responsibilities in a number of areas, including in the area of student support and wellbeing.
NEPS is leading on the Counselling in Primary Schools Pilot. The pilot has two Strands. Strand 1 is the provision of one-to-one counselling to support a small number of children in all primary schools in counties Cavan, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Mayo, Monaghan and Tipperary. Strand 2 of the pilot is the establishment of a new type of support to schools from Education Wellbeing Teams and the introduction of Education Wellbeing Practitioners to support clusters of schools in Cork, Carlow, Dublin 7 and Dublin 16.
I recently announced Jigsaw as the successful bidder for the tender to deliver NEART: the new national programme of mental health and wellbeing resources and training for post-primary schools. The new programme will complement the supports already available in schools such as the provision of guidance counselling and the work of NEPS, as well as other existing wellbeing programmes and initiatives including Student Support Team training. The Department of Education, through NEPS, is currently working with Jigsaw on Phase 1 of the programme to develop and finalise the resources that will be available to schools through the initiative. Engagement with schools will begin in Phase 2 and further information about available programmes and e-learning supports will be announced during this second phase, which will commence later this year.
Post-primary schools currently have access to Guidance Counsellors. Counselling is a key part of the role of the Guidance Counsellor, offered on an individual or group basis. The Guidance Counsellor also identifies and supports 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.
