Ministers must acknowledge support cutbacks

Listening to minister of state Kathleen Lynch on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland yesterday or Enda Kenny in the Dáil on Wednesday, you would think cutting counselling supports in schools had been a blessing.

Mr Kenny told TDs that schools were given more autonomy when guidance counselling was included in their teacher allocations from last autumn, even though they were previously an additional staff member.

What he or Ms Lynch — who told radio listeners yesterday that teachers and caretakers can be the ones to sort out the troubles of a struggling teenager — should do is stop pretending there have been no cuts to care supports in schools.

Staff, be they principals, teachers or cleaners, already for the most part have a caring enough nature to lend an ear to students who are feeling down. In an era of growing family trauma, peer pressure to look like TV stars before reaching puberty, and social media that can knock teenagers’ well-being more than boost it, there are enough issues in most young people’s lives to keep teachers ears perked all week long.

But even with all the training that is promised — and schools are unclear as to who will co-ordinate that service — unqualified school staff will not be equipped to deal with many situations.

A range of bodies yesterday welcomed the structured approach to the new Guidelines for Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention in Post-Primary Schools. They offer advice on how to give support for all (creating a positive atmosphere and a confidence in all students to share their problems), support for some (students with early signs of mental health difficulties) and support for the few students with more complex needs who need outside help.

Ferdia Kelly, general secretary of the Joint Managerial Body that represents half the country’s second level schools, says the “school support for all” element is generally provided through the year head system. Year heads are a point of contact for other teachers to bring issues to their attention, but some schools have lost many of them because they can no longer promote a teacher to the job.

Guidance counsellors then deal with aspects of “school support for some”, taking a more in-depth look at people’s needs, and maybe referring them on to outside help as covered under “support for few”. But their professional body says their time for one-to-one counselling has been cut in half, and more in some schools, by staffing cuts since last autumn.

“The support for all, some, or few is a welcome structure. But that ladder is hard to climb when the first two rungs — the year heads and the guidance counsellors — have effectively been removed out of schools,” Mr Kelly says.

While the commitments to offer all school staff the relevant training is welcomed, he says schools need to be able to deal with one agency to give that support or put them in contact with the right help.

“There was a recognition of that when we were briefed on how this will work, but I wouldn’t say I’m confident of delivery,” he said.

Clearly, the guidelines should help embed the mental health interests of students in the daily work of teachers, and allow good work being done in many schools be extended into all classrooms.

But ministers need to acknowledge that part of the weaponry to fight off growing effects of 21st century life as a teenager has been stripped away, albeit because of budget measures introduced by a former government or forced on the current one by historic economic mismanagement.

If firefighters were unable to get to a tragedy because someone in Government told councils they need to double up as fire safety inspectors, there would be a public outcry. There has been plenty of outrage at cuts to non-teaching supports in schools but the manner in which Cabinet members treat those vocalising it is reminiscent of the dismissal of those who warned of property collapses, even those who dared to speak of institutional abuse.

It may seem an extreme analogy, but you could be forgiven for not believing Irish adults had voted for greater recognition of children’s rights last autumn if you listened back to some of the recent political rhetoric from the Government on this issue.