AQW 23205/22-27

Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry

Tabled Date: 24/02/2025
Answered On Date: 07/03/2025
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education to detail any consideration that was given to the long-term educational and social impacts on children of discontinuing the Healthy Happy Minds programme.

Answer:

As part of the Healthy Happy Minds Counselling and Therapeutic Services pilot which ended two years ago:

702 schools availed of the Healthy Happy Minds pilot, the pilot was available to all primary setting including schools and EOTAS.

The number of pupils supported through the pilot is not available, as some participating schools failed to return their monitoring forms.

I welcome the re-establishment of the ‘Executive Working Group on Mental Wellbeing, Resilience and Suicide Prevention’ as I believe that this will provide an opportunity to discuss the continuum of provision for mental health and therapeutic services.