Education: Lazio Region allocates 5 million euros for psychology services; call for applications published

A service designed to support pupils’ development and the quality of schools in Lazio. This is the aim of the call for proposals published to support the School Psychology Service and counselling services within educational and training institutions in the Lazio Region. The call for proposals, funded with 5 million euros from the ESF+, has been drawn up in accordance with the provisions of Regional Law 3/2026 concerning the ‘School Psychology Service’.

“This,” explains the Lazio Regional Councillor for Employment, Education, Training, Research, Achievement and Urban Planning, Alessandro Calvi – “this is a call for proposals that is particularly close to our hearts because it will make a structural contribution to students’ development by supporting educational institutions and families, whilst preventing and combating the phenomena of school drop-out and early school leaving, bullying and youth distress, which unfortunately characterise an increasingly fragile everyday reality. I would like to thank the President of the Lazio Region, Francesco Rocca, the Forza Italia regional councillor and sponsor of the bill, Cosmo Mitrano, and the entire regional administration for this achievement, which aims to ensure the physical and mental wellbeing of pupils, teachers, headteachers and school staff.”

The notice provides for the award of grants to state and state-recognised educational institutions – including primary schools and lower and upper secondary schools – and to training institutions within the vocational education and training (VET) system, for the establishment or expansion of psychological support services aimed at facilitating access to specialist services and carrying out activities for pupils, including the establishment and operation of counselling centres, combating the spread of addictions, preventing behaviour that poses a risk to mental health, educational failure, educational deprivation, early school leaving, relationship difficulties, and initiatives designed to address any emergency situations.

Applications may be submitted from 9.00 am on 22 September 2026 until 5.00 pm on 6 November 2026. “We are working to implement every aspect of the regional law which affirms the virtuous principle of psychological support in schools, not aimed solely at remedial intervention, but – as Councillor Calvi concludes – as a necessary element for prevention, the support of pupils and all staff involved in the educational process, with a focus on interpersonal relationships and collective wellbeing”.