Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1697750961941.pdf (Ireland)
Jigsaw, the National Centre for Youth Mental Health Mental Health Supports in Schools and Tertiary Education Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Opening Statement to: 2 November 15th, 2022.

Introduction Firstly, to the Chair and all Committee members, thank you for this opportunity to contribute to, and support, your important work in this area of mental health supports in education settings.
By way of brief introduction, Jigsaw is Ireland’s primary youth mental health charity.

Supported by the HSE (Mental Health and Health and Wellbeing) and other funders, Jigsaw has, for over 16 years, established a track record in achieving better mental health outcomes for young people by providing a range of primary care therapeutic services for those aged 12-25 as well as creating supportive communities around them.
At Jigsaw, we believe that the school and college years are central to the development of identity and to the successful transition to adulthood, as well as to overall wellbeing.

A positive experience of education for students can lead to strong, supportive social relationships, successfully engaging in learning, developing an ability for self-care, enjoying better physical and mental health, and participating productively in the wider economy and society throughout their lives.
We have previously made submissions and participated in Committee deliberations in relation to mental health supports in higher education, therefore, we focus our attention today specifically on mental health in post-primary and further education and training settings.

Context - Mental health in schools: Internationally, large-scale studies point to increasing mental health difficulties (e.g.
symptoms of distress or anxiety, or engaging in self-harm) among school-aged young people; There is a growing body of evidence that implementing whole-school interventions has a positive impact on student well-being and mental health and has been shown to reduce mental health difficulties, improve social skills and social and emotional wellbeing, and improve learning in young people.
Here in Ireland, we know from the My World Survey 2 (published by Jigsaw in association with the School of Psychology, UCD in 2019), that there has been a significant increase in the levels of anxiety and depression among adolescents in Ireland over the past decade.

At Jigsaw, we have experienced this first hand, where more and more young people aged 18-25 are seeking the services of Jigsaw across the country and online.
In 2021, the majority (81%) of young people referred to Jigsaw brief intervention services and 54% of young people engaged with Jigsaw Live Chat were aged between 12- 17 years.

For this time period, the most common concerns among 12-17 year olds attending Jigsaw’s brief intervention services were anxiety (65%), low mood (45%) and sleep changes (34%).
For our Live Chat services, over a quarter (27.9%) of 12-17 year olds engaging with the service reported problems with school/college, with anxiety/stress, mood difficulties and suicidal ideation/self-harm being the most common difficulties report.

While Covid 19 has contributed significantly to a deterioration in young people’s mental health, long before Covid, the indicators were not good.

These, I am sure you will agree, are alarming figures.
For information, support, or just to find out more about what we do, visit jigsaw.ie Jigsaw, registered charity in Ireland.

Registered charity number 20064846.

Charity revenue number 17439.


3 Mental health and wellbeing supports in schools: We acknowledge and pay tribute to the work of the Department of Education and other key stakeholders in supporting the wellbeing agenda in post-primary schools, particularly the role of NEPS and others in the implementation of the Wellbeing Policy and Framework for Practice.
We also believe, however, that we at Jigsaw have a significant contribution to make in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of the whole school community through our One Good School™ initiative.

One Good School, endorsed by the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals, ISSU and more, is a whole-school initiative which supports the mental health and wellbeing of young people and those around them by developing a shared responsibility across the whole school community.
Currently funded through significant fundraising over the past 4 years, One Good School provides a unique opportunity to demonstrate Jigsaw’s commitment and contribution to the implementation of national government policy for schools, and in particular the Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice.
Through our work in youth mental health promotion, and our extensive experience of providing therapeutic supports to young people, we have first-hand experience of actively partnering with schools to promote mental health and wellbeing and support them to achieve their commitments set out in this policy.
Currently working with 147 post-primary schools across the country, we have an already developed infrastructure to deliver a range of supports to schools at a local, regional and national level, as well as online, that can support schools to promote and support student mental health.

Furthermore, in our support of schools to promote and support mental and wellbeing, Jigsaw launched a new online Schools Hub in March 2021.
With initial funding from the Innovate Together Fund the Schools Hub provides a wide range of online resources, materials and supports to teachers and school staff across the 26 counties to enable them to deliver meaningful wellbeing lessons in the classroom – both at junior and senior cycle.

Mental health and wellbeing supports in Further Education & Training and Higher Ed.
Jigsaw has recently established a specific team to focus on promoting and supporting mental health and wellbeing in FET and Higher Education settings.
As mentioned earlier, we have already provided a submission in relation to mental health supports in Higher Education and we are working with key partners to actively contribute to mental health promotion in Higher Education settings with a number of pilot initiatives underway including One Good Friend™ - a peer support online course for students to help them to support their peers.
We have a particular interest in Youthreach and FET and our detailed submission points to the significant mental health difficulties experienced by young people in these settings.

We are actively building collaborations and partnerships with key stakeholders in these settings to consider how best we can contribute to the provision of mental health and wellbeing supports and programmes.

Concluding remarks.
Concluding remarks.

At Jigsaw, we fully acknowledge the complexities of addressing mental health and wellbeing in education settings and we believe that promoting student mental health and wellbeing requires For information, support, or just to find out more about what we do, visit jigsaw.ie Jigsaw, registered charity in Ireland.

Registered charity number 20064846.

Charity revenue number 17439.

4 more coordination, collaboration and partnership across Departments and with key agencies such as Jigsaw.
As an organisation with a long and established history of service delivery, mental health promotion, training, campaigning, research, evaluation and more, we know solutions are often hard fought and hard won.

But, during these times of extraordinary change and unpredictability, doing nothing is no longer an option.

And, we are keen to play our part.


There is strong support at local from schools themselves, and at national level for the expansion of our One Good School™ programme; this programme has the capacity to provide all schools in Ireland with a universal, whole-school structure for supporting the mental health of students, teachers, parents and school leadership; however, the expansion of the programme requires significant mainstream funding which should be supported by the Department of Education.
Additionally, given the diversification of the student profile in recent years, it is crucial to ensure that a range of targeted mental health supports and services are also provided in order to effectively meet the needs of those students who may be considered more ‘at risk’.
Together with our colleagues in the Irish Second level Students Union (ISSU) we recommend that student voice and engagement, via the student council structures and the ISSU, is central to and integrated into all consultation, planning, development and delivery of mental health supports in schools, and particularly in the development of the new SPHE curriculum for senior cycle.

The valuable role students play in the lives of one another needs to be nurtured.
Peer-based mental health and wellbeing support programmes should be further developed and expanded, and have the potential to become a key feature of all mental health promotion efforts in post-primary as well as FET & Higher Education.

We also recommend that specific funding is allocated to the development of a comprehensive mental health promotion programme for Further Education & Training and Youthreach settings, taking a whole-system approach.
Jigsaw can play a significant role in this development and work with other relevant stakeholders to ensure joined-up thinking and collaboration.

All relevant stakeholders need to work collaboratively to provide a more comprehensive and coordinated approach to mental health and wellbeing supports available to students across all education settings in order to avoid duplication and ensure equitable access to an integrated mental health support system which best meets the needs of all.
What is crystal clear to us here in Jigsaw is that increased investment is now needed if we are to make a real, meaningful difference to the mental health and wellbeing of Ireland’s young people, and give them the best possible chance at a full and healthy future.

State investment in this area is required now - the students of today are our future professionals, parents, politicians and One Good Adults®, who, in turn, can go on to support the mental health of future generations of young people.
Thank you again for this opportunity – I look forward to your comments and questions.

For information, support, or just to find out more about what we do, visit jigsaw.ie Jigsaw, registered charity in Ireland.

Registered charity number 20064846.

Charity revenue number 17439.