Primary school students in Dublin are set to be offered free counselling services for the first time thanks to a new pilot scheme.
From September 2023 the pilot scheme will see 78 schools from Dublin, Carlow and Cork given access to free counselling for their pupils. Education Minister Norma Foley received Cabinet approval last month to roll out the well-being pilot programme and some €5 million was allocated for the new scheme.
The first part of the programme saw one-to-ne counselling sessions in counties Cavan, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Mayo, Monaghan, Tipperary, via access to a Department of Education-approved counsellor. The second part will see the creation of specialist wellbeing practitioners to support the welfare of four to twelve-year-olds at primary school level, and these practitioners will be working under the supervision of National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) psychologists.
