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Views & Opinion What are the options for counselling? Comment by Dr ASHA PATEL, CEO of education not-for-profit Innovating Minds


in pupils’ psychological distress over the long-term, compared to those who only received pastoral care.' However, it was also revealed that this type of counselling is costly at £300 to £400 per pupil. One of the issues with counselling is that it is operates in a silo. For


example, the strategies and learning that take place within the sessions are not transferred back into the classroom. Furthermore, in some schools the number of sessions may be set by the senior leadership team even before the pupil goes to their first session with the counsellor. They can be subject to budgetary considerations and the need to ensure the counsellor can see as many children as possible. The difficulty this poses is that the clinician is not making these decisions in the context of student need.


Peer mentoring Many young people find it easier to talk to others of their own age before they talk to teachers, family members, youth workers or other professionals. Sometimes they are matched with someone the staff think will be a good role model. Peer mentors provide advice and guidance whilst acting as a positive


role model for younger people. Some mentors expand their experience, build their skills and choose to include this role on UCAS forms; others experience an increase in self-esteem and a greater insight into their own mental health. But there may be concerns for the mentee about confidentiality and being stigmatised. With this in mind, it is important to check to ensure the peer mentoring sessions are mutually beneficial.


In a poll conducted by YouGov, the UK’s leading children’s charity asked 4,000 children and young people aged 8 to 24 years across Great Britain how they had been feeling during lockdown. At least a third said they had experienced an increase of mental health and wellbeing issues including stress, loneliness and worry. This research provides critical evidence for schools that are considering


expansion of their mental health services. This month we will look at different models and how schools might implement them.


Upskilling key members of staff Some schools are focusing on training their teams to develop early interventions. By doing so, they provide support and continue to liaise with specialist services should children require additional support. This has been really effective for schools training pastoral and family liaison workers in the Healing Together programme. It lets children access early trauma-informed help from people they trust, and in a space, where they feel safe– the school. The rate of staff burnout is high and there are calls for supervision for


these staff to spread the load. Writing in the TES, Jodie Rees paints a picture where pastoral staff may feel totally responsible for the students they support and risk damaging their own health. 'There is an aftermath of wrangling and worrying, exhausting ourselves thinking: Is the student OK? Did I say the right thing? Did I listen enough?' Individual staff can feel isolated and that they are managing a problem on their own. This can lead to stress and high turnover, but schools can turn to providers that offer wraparound support to their staff. The Healing Together facilitators can access clinical consultation, online community forums and ongoing access to CPD.


Counselling Earlier this year The Lancet: Child & Adolescent Health published research conducted by the University of Roehampton on the effectiveness of school-based counselling. It was conducted between 2016 and 2018 and surveyed 329 children,


aged 13 to 16, at six-week intervals across 18 London schools. They found 'school-based humanistic counselling led to significant reductions


20 www.education-today.co.uk


Online 24/7 support Web based support is another approach and unlike the other solutions mentioned here, it is available 24/7, without an appointment. Kooth is one such example. It promises 'Free, safe and anonymous support' via a variety of channels. There is an online magazine and readers are encouraged to contribute


their own experiences so it’s not a one-way system. Students can go onto discussion boards to find and share relationship advice, join conversations or monitor and record their mood and over time to identify things which boost their morale or bring them down. They can set their own personal goals and track their progress. There is


also a counsellor online day and night the learner can find someone who will listen and understand when they need to talk. The advantage of web- based solutions such as Kooth is that they offer a whole range of tools which students can learn to use, so there is no stigma, and they can access support independently.


What else can schools offer? While all these methods have their supporters, increasingly we are finding that there is no substitute to having a whole school approach to mental health. Any single approach is risky because staff leave, budgets get cut and initiatives get put on the back burner. A whole school approach to mental health is about embedding mental


health into the school systems, policies and procedures so it becomes a part of the school culture. The school community learns that offering mental health support is everyone’s job from the headteacher to the caretaker, from pastoral staff to pupils. Integrating a whole school approach is a journey, it brings the school


community together and provides a wraparound approach that will benefit staff and future generations.


For more information about a whole school approach to mental health please view the free webinar available at https://www.myedupod.com/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-mental-health-in- the-education-section-0-0-0


April 2021


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