A counsellor in every school

When things fall apart

Troubled feelings block learning, as any teacher will tell you. Counselling is a tried and tested way of helping resolve these problems. Many teachers believe that a counsellor in every school will do more to raise standards than yet another government strategy. In today's results-driven climate, this counts.

Children today lead complicated lives at home and are pushed at school in an increasingly pressured and competitive system. They deserve to talk to somebody who treats their problems seriously – with empathy and confidentiality.

The trouble is we always think that problems at school will happen to someone else. As head teacher Chris Pearson observes, 'Emotional problems are what other people's children have. Every parent I show around our school asks what will happen if their child is bullied – never if their child is a bully.'

But problems can happen to anyone. When our children have emotional difficulties that affect their learning it's important that they are helped with expert intervention. We just need to recognise this and start paying for it.

Pay now or later?

Any teacher will testify that disruptive children – those who stop others from learning – are usually the ones with low self-esteem. Schools who do fund a counsellor have to pay for them from the general pot, meaning there's less to spend on other essentials. These children don't feel included at school and later on they don't feel included in society. They need support as soon as their problems arise. Waiting until later can result in longer-term mental health difficulties.

Investing in them at primary school age must result in savings later on in social care, policing and health. As Chris Pearson asks, 'Why when the government is happy to spend millions on enforcing ASBOs and running incentive schemes that reward good citizenship do we refuse to spend money on supporting the most vulnerable children in our society?'

However, counselling provision in many schools is under threat through lack of funding. Schools who do fund a counsellor have to pay for them from the general pot, meaning there’s less to spend on other essentials. If those schools who do have a counsellor lose them it will have a big impact on the children already having counselling sessions, the other children in the school and the staff.

Chris Pearson knows this at first hand: 'Our school has decided that it is important to pay for an art therapist/counsellor but there is no allowance for this in our general funding. She is fantastically successful but I don't know how long we shall be able to afford her.'

Don't we owe it to every child to offer them a consistent space in which to talk at a time when it may feel like their life is falling apart? 

Teachers or counsellors?

Teacher Susan Tyler knows that children do want to talk to their teachers but it is difficult for them to be reliable confidants for children. Their responsibilities for a whole class leave little time for individuals. And the teacher who has to control behaviour cannot always create an atmosphere where it is safe to share difficult feelings.

'Circle time is a popular strategy in schools to bring problems and worries to the class in an open, non-judgemental forum,' says Susan Tyler. 'This is unlikely to have much of an impact for children who have been hurt and now find it difficult to trust. If adults find it hard to share their difficulties in such a public way, why should we expect children to be any different?'

So what can counsellors offer? Kim Crewe is the counselling coordinator for education settings at Hove Youth Advice Centre, an agency experienced in delivering counselling services to schools. She explains: 'First of all, counsellors don't tell children what to do. They help them find their own way to resolve worries and make decisions.'

She adds, 'Having someone to talk to or communicate with through art and play helps children make sense of their confused and angry feelings. They can speak the 'unspeakable' in confidence (unless there are child protection issues). Most of us know how difficult it can be to admit to thoughts like “I wish my dad was dead” or “I hate my mum”.'   

Getting inside/outside help

We check children's eyesight and hearing in schools. What about their emotional needs? Why don't children have access to a teacher and nurse and a counsellor?

'Educational psychologists should be at least as evident in schools as school nurses,' says Chris Pearson. 'Our excellent school nurse visits once a week. We see our educational psychologist a couple of times a term if we are very lucky.'

Although outside interventions will always have their place, it's easier for parents if a child can receive professional support in their school without extra travel or disruption. It fits better into the structure of their day. And it can be a bonus for children if the counsellor is not seen to be part of the 'system' of outside agencies who, for example, might have 'taken our sister into care' or 'told mum off' or 'brought the police round'.

Is it working? Hove Youth Advice Centre

In 1996, Hove YMCA were commissioned to provide a local secondary school with a counsellor through their Youth Advice Centre. The demand and need for the service grew, and the Youth Advice Centre now provides a counselling service to 32 schools in the area.

All the evidence suggests that it's working. One local head told Kim Crewe, 'The overall impact is undoubtedly positive. The children, very gradually, have shown signs of settling and they talk more readily of their problems to other adults. They look forward to their time with Jane [the school counsellor] and guard it jealously. They have saved things they want to tell her each week.'

Another local head reported back to her: 'We have not seen miracles since the start of the counselling sessions. What we have seen is a gradual easing of the emotional burdens some of our children bear. Bit by bit their daily problems become less intimidating or their setbacks become more manageable.'

Teachers testify that the service is working too. One local teacher told Kim Crewe: 'John was having angry rages. His father was coming home drunk every night and he didn't know how to cope. He was taking his fury out by throwing his pens at the window in the classroom. After his counselling sessions he came back calmer and more ready and willing to learn.'

It is not only children who benefit from a school-based counselling service. Parents are helped too. Kim Crewe confirms: 'We firmly believe in the benefits of working with the parents and the child. Bringing parents into school has helped to foster partnerships between the school and the family.

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With thanks to Kim Crewe, Chris Pearson and Susan Tyler

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