Recording Wellbeing Support in Student Support Files: A Guide for Irish Schools
A practical guide for primary and post-primary schools on recording wellbeing supports, referrals and actions without copying confidential counselling notes into Student Support Files.
Updated on 29 August 2026
When a child or young person receives wellbeing support, the school may need to coordinate teachers, parents or guardians, NEPS, a counsellor, a Student Support Team, or another service.
The record-keeping challenge is simple: write down enough to guide educational support, without copying confidential counselling or clinical detail into every school record.
This guide explains a practical approach for Irish primary and post-primary schools.
Note
Different supports, one shared record-keeping principle
The Department's Counselling in Primary Schools and Education Wellbeing Practitioner materials apply to specified primary and special-school settings. Post-primary schools use supports including Student Support Teams, guidance counselling, NEPS and Neart. The programmes differ, but every school needs clear actions, appropriate access and useful review records.
What Has Changed for Primary Schools in 2026/27?
The Department's current Counselling in Primary Schools Pilot materials include 2026/27 counsellor panels and practical documents for participating schools, including consent and referral information, a principal or link-person checklist, and a counselling-session record form.
The Education Wellbeing Practitioners in Schools programme has also expanded into DEIS Plus schools. The stated work includes whole-school wellbeing, psycho-educational support, and early intervention for mild or emerging wellbeing needs.
What the August 2026 Evaluation Found
On 12 August 2026, the Department published its evaluation of the Counselling in Primary Schools Pilot. It reports that 22,375 primary-school children benefited across the two pilot strands: 2,190 through one-to-one counselling and 20,185 through 1,224 Education Wellbeing Practitioner interventions.
Pupils reported improvements in emotional regulation, resilience, communication and coping strategies. Parents also reported positive changes in children's behaviour, confidence and emotional wellbeing. The evaluation found particular potential in the Education Wellbeing Practitioner model for reaching pupils, parents and school staff through early-intervention and whole-school supports.
These findings support better coordination around wellbeing. They do not change the record boundary: schools should still keep detailed counselling-session content in the record required by that service and place only educationally relevant needs, strategies, actions and review information in the Student Support File or Plan.
For a wider view of the DEIS Plus developments beginning in 2026/27, including City Connects and the developing Whole School Guidance pilot, read DEIS Plus 2026/27: City Connects, Wellbeing and Guidance.
These materials are useful examples of a coordinated workflow:
- identify the concern and the appropriate support route
- follow the current referral and consent process where it applies
- assign responsibility to a named person
- record the educational actions the school will take
- review whether those actions are helping
They do not turn the Student Support File into a counselling case file.
What Is the Post-Primary Equivalent?
Post-primary schools have a different support structure. The Department's Resources for Student Support Teams describe the Student Support Team as a way to organise school resources for students with additional support needs.
The collection includes:
- a NEPS guide and consultation workbook
- provision-mapping templates
- sample Student Support Team meeting records
- solution-focused questions
- forms for assigning and reviewing actions
The Department specifically describes effective record-keeping as important to a Student Support Team's work. Its sample records focus on structured discussion, agreed actions, responsibility and follow-up.
Neart adds mental-health and wellbeing training and resources for post-primary schools. It complements existing supports such as guidance counselling, NEPS and Student Support Teams rather than replacing them.
Which Record Should Hold What?
Use each record for its intended purpose.
| Record | Include | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Student Support File or Plan | Educational needs, functional impact in school, priority needs, targets, strategies, responsible staff and review evidence | A detailed account of counselling sessions or unnecessary medical history |
| Log of Actions | Date of referral or consultation, people involved, agreed school action, responsibility and review date | Sensitive narrative that does not help staff deliver support |
| Student Support Team record | Concern discussed, solution-focused actions, referrals, owner and follow-up | Circulating confidential detail to everyone at the meeting without a clear need |
| Restricted counselling or clinical record | Information required by the professional service and its governing process | Copying the full record into an SSF or general team notes |
| Child-protection record | Information handled under the school's child-protection procedures | Treating an SSF or ordinary wellbeing log as the safeguarding record |
Warning
Record the educational consequence, not the private conversation
Relevant staff may need to know that a student needs a predictable check-in, a reduced task load, access to a quiet space, or a reviewed attendance plan. They usually do not need a transcript or summary of what the student discussed in counselling.
A Better Way to Write Wellbeing Notes
Weak record:
Student attended counselling and discussed detailed family circumstances. Full account follows...
More useful school record:
Wellbeing support referral completed on 8 September. Agreed school actions: morning check-in with the named staff member, advance notice of timetable changes, and a quiet-space option at lunch. Review on 29 September.
The second note tells relevant staff what to do. It also limits sensitive information to what is needed for school support.
The Data Protection Commission's Data Protection Toolkit for Schools explains that information about physical or mental health can be special-category data. Schools should identify their lawful basis and applicable Article 9 condition, restrict access, and follow their own retention and data-protection policies.
Consent on a programme referral form should not be treated as a universal legal basis for every other school record. Follow the current programme instructions and the school's approved procedures.
Primary-School Workflow
For a participating primary or special school:
- Record the presenting educational concern. Describe what staff observe in learning, participation, attendance, relationships or regulation.
- Choose the correct support route. Use the current Department and NEPS criteria rather than assuming counselling is the answer to every concern.
- Complete the required process. Use the current referral, consent and principal or link-person documents where applicable.
- Update the educational plan. Record only the strategies, accommodations or targets relevant to school.
- Review school evidence. Note changes in participation, engagement, attendance, regulation or progress without attempting to evaluate therapy.
Post-Primary Workflow
For a post-primary Student Support Team:
- Define the concern clearly. Use teacher observations, attendance information, student voice and parent or guardian input where appropriate.
- Use a solution-focused discussion. Decide what the school can change and whether another referral route is needed.
- Assign each action. Name the staff role responsible and set a review date.
- Update the Student Support Plan where needed. Translate relevant information into educational targets, classroom strategies and supports.
- Close the loop. Record progress and decide whether to continue, change, step up or step down support.
Student Support Team meeting records support coordination. They do not replace an individual Student Support File or Plan.
Five Questions Before Saving a Note
Ask:
- Does this information help someone provide educational support?
- Is this the correct record for it?
- Have we included only the detail needed for that purpose?
- Can only the relevant people access it?
- Is there a clear action, owner or review date?
If a note has no educational purpose or next action, it may not belong in the working Student Support File.
How SENScribe Helps
SENScribe helps primary and post-primary teachers organise observations, priority needs, strategies, targets, actions and reviews into a structured Student Support File workflow.
It is designed for educational support planning. It is not a clinical or counselling case-note system, and teachers remain responsible for deciding what information belongs in each school record.
SENScribe is available to Irish primary and post-primary schools now.
Use SENScribe in your school
Choose a plan for structured Student Support File workflows in Irish primary and post-primary schools.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this guide apply to both primary and post-primary schools?
Yes. The record-keeping principles apply across both sectors. The Department's Counselling in Primary Schools and Education Wellbeing Practitioner materials have a narrower primary and special-school scope; post-primary schools should use the guidance and support routes that apply to their sector.
Should counselling notes be placed in the Student Support File?
Usually, the Student Support File should record the educationally relevant need, school strategy, assigned action and review evidence—not detailed counselling-session content. Follow the service's rules and the school's data-protection, safeguarding and records policies.
Does a Student Support Team record replace the Student Support Plan?
No. A team record shows the concern discussed, actions agreed and follow-up. The individual plan records the student's priority needs, targets, strategies and progress.
Can SENScribe be used in post-primary schools?
Yes. SENScribe supports both primary and post-primary school contexts, including sector-appropriate terminology and Student Support Plan drafting.
Official sources: Counselling in Primary Schools Pilot · Evaluation of the Counselling in Primary Schools Pilot · Education Wellbeing Practitioners in Schools · Resources for Student Support Teams · Neart · DPC Data Protection Toolkit for Schools