Schools told not to use new money for counselling

Schools are told the money has to benefit at least half the pupils and staff

Schools cannot use additional funding for mental health and wellbeing to pay for counselling for pupils, according to new guidance.

Schools are to receive an additional £3,200 to £14,000 depending on size.

According to Education Authority (EA) guidance the funding cannot be used to "support a small group of pupils or individuals e.g. counselling".

Post-primary schools currently receive limited counselling for pupils through the EA, but primary schools do not.

Just prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, 800 post-primary school pupils in Northern Ireland were on a waiting list to receive counselling.

In October, a study commissioned by the Health and Social Care Board suggested high levels of anxiety and depression among children and young people in Northern Ireland.

An additional £5m for schools and youth services "to support the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people" was announced by the Department of Education (DE) on 17 November.

The department said it was to allow schools to address new pressures as a result of Covid-19.

That funding is now being distributed to schools, with bigger schools receiving more money.

Flexibility

Guidance on how the money can be spent has also been sent to schools by the EA.

Schools have some flexibility over how to use the money.

But the EA guidance said that the money a school received had to benefit "at least" half of the pupils and staff.

Therefore it cannot be used to pay for counselling to "support a small group of pupils or individuals".

Playground equipment is among the areas the EA advises schools to invest in

"Mental health and wellbeing of children and young people has been consistently identified as a concern among the youth population themselves," the EA guidance said.

"This funding is being released to assist schools to meet the wellbeing needs of staff and pupils."

Schools can use the money, according to the EA guidance, to pay for things like "mindfulness programmes", playground equipment or "digital resources that support wellbeing".

The funding can also pay for "guest speakers from external organisations with a proven track record to provide training to enhance the knowledge and skills of staff, children and young people in relation to wellbeing".

Sports classes for staff and pupils or "nurture spaces" in classrooms can also be paid for.

Schools with fewer than 500 pupils receive an additional £3,200, while those with between 500 to 999 pupils receive £7,540.

Those with between 1,000 to 1,499 pupils get £10,000 while the highest amount of £14,000 is for schools with over 1,500 pupils.