A COLIN councillor has hit out after claims that school counselling services could be scrapped as the Education Authority face budgetary pressures. Cllr Brian Heading was speaking after it was suggested that crucial services providing support to children and young people are under serious threat as the Department of Education faces cuts of up to £110 million this financial quarter. This could mean that non-statutory services such as the Independent Counselling Service for Schools (ICSS) and the Happy Healthy Minds primary school counselling service could be scrapped in money-saving efforts following the Northern Ireland Office's new budget in the absence of an Executive. Both ICSS and Happy Healthy Minds provide a vital lifeline and support to many young people during times of crisis and poor mental health, such as bereavement, illness, family breakup and other traumas. The potential loss of funding for these services could lead to thousands of children without the support they rely upon in school, adding to NHS waiting lists and backlog as schools lack the funding to facilitate these services. These services are rolled out to almost every primary and post-primary school in the North, and without adequate funding, most will be left with no counselling services.
