St Patrick’s Mental Health Services (SPMHS) and the National Parent’s Council Primary (NPC) are hosting the launch of a campaign calling for additional mental health supports in schools.

This joint campaign is seeking the development and roll-out of a primary schools-based mental health support service. This is aligned with a commitment outlined in Sharing the Vision, the Irish Government’s mental health policy, under which all schools and centres of education in Ireland will have initiated a Wellbeing Promotion Process by 2023.

Significant numbers of primary school-aged children are going through mental health difficulties that require support. Through putting a schools-based mental health support service in place, there is an opportunity to strengthen the mental wellbeing of thousands of children, while also supporting their parents and teachers.

A schools-based support service is currently being delivered in Limerick, based on a model developed in the United Kingdom (UK) over the last three years, and has indicated positive outcomes.

Taking place online on Tuesday, 1 February 2022 from 11am to 12pm, this campaign launch event will hear how the mental health service in a Limerick primary school is performing and explore how a similar model was rolled out in the UK.

Speakers for this event will include:

• Paul Gilligan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) here at SPMHS
• Áine Lynch, CEO of the NPC
• Niall Muldoon, Ombudsman for Children
• Tiernan O’Neill, Principal of Corpus Christi Primary School
• Lesley Jane Wakefield, Programme Manager of the Children and Young People Mental Health Team in the National Health Service (NHS) England
• Sarah Stockham of the Mental Health Support Team in Schools for Weymouth, Portland and West Dorset
• Stuart Lynch, Head of Quality and Safeguarding at the NHS Sussex Partnership Trust.

Further details regarding the event schedule will be available ahead of the launch event.