Northern Ireland education cuts: School counselling loss 'incomprehensible'

Fiona Keegan, principal of St Kevin's Primary School in west Belfast says the counselling services are an integral part of school life

A cut in funding for school counselling services is a move that will fail children, a west Belfast primary school principal has said.

Fiona Keegan said the Department of Education's decision to cut the Extended Schools Programme is "incomprehensible".

She said she will not be able to "adequately serve the children" of her community.

Principals were told funding would end on 30 June and would not be replaced.

The Extended Schools Programme enabled almost 500 schools to provide extras such as counselling, speech-and-language therapy, breakfasts and after-school clubs.

For Ms Keegan, principal of St Kevin's Primary School on the Falls Road, it was the worst news.

Located in an area of high social deprivation, the majority of St Kevin's 600 pupils are in receipt of free school meals.

There is a dedicated school counsellor on site for three and a half days of every week.

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Come September, she is not sure if or how the school will be able to organise any counselling services.

"My teachers are amazing but we are teachers - we are not counsellors; we're not social workers," Ms Keegan added.

"We're not equipped sometimes to deal with the trauma and the childhood experiences that our children have had."

Michelle Harris of Barnardo's said that in the 15 years the service has been provided she has never seen funding in such a poor state

She said counselling services that are currently provided are not an addition to school life but an "an integral part of it".

Barnardo's is one of the largest providers of counselling services to primary schools in Northern Ireland.

Michelle Harris, assistant director of children's services, said in the 15 years the service has been provided, she has never seen funding in such a poor state.

She described the move by the Department of Education as a false economy and that "the money that is being saved is not really being saved".

Ms Harris also said that without school counselling services, children's emotional needs "will escalate when they cannot get the support when and where they want it" - leading parents and guardians to turn to statutory agencies, which are experiencing stubbornly long waiting lists.

Decisions about cuts, Ms Harris said, should be being made by ministers and it is "hugely inappropriate" that civil servants are making them.

School principals have been told the fund is being axed from 30 June.

'Not in emotional distress'

In a letter to schools, Stormont's Department of Education said it had to make "significant savings" in 2023-24 and the programme "is no longer available".

The Extended Schools scheme has been running since 2006 and more than £9m was provided to about 500 schools in 2022/23.

The schools received sums of between £1,000 to about £33,000 in 2022/23, depending on their pupil numbers and needs.

To be eligible for funding, schools need to have more than 37% of pupils who are entitled to free school meals or more than half who live in a disadvantaged area.

For those who work in schools as counsellors, the positive impact of their work is felt firstly by the children, their parents and their siblings, but also by their peers and their teachers.

Julie Magowan, who has been a school counsellor for 14 years, said she is devastated by the news.

She said that "teachers often report that children coming back into the classroom are far more settled and ready to learn" after counselling sessions.

"And at the end of the process, they often remark that they have improved academically because their brains can access the learning because they're not in emotional distress."

Julie Magowan has been a school counsellor for 14 years and says she is devastated by the news

"They're more settled at home, able to sleep, eating well again and just enjoying life being children again and being outside playing with their friends."

At St Kevin's PS, the next step is for Ms Keegan to meet with her board of governors and attempt to work out if there is any way they can find some money to provide even a scaled-back service.

It is not an easy task.