School counselling staff are members of the school learning and support team.
A teacher may recommend the service by referring a student to the school’s learning and support team. As a parent or carer, you may refer your child directly to the school counselling service. Students can also self-refer to the service.
The school counselling service can:
- support students who are worrying about school work, friends, getting in trouble at school or feeling down
- help parents and carers make decisions about your child’s education
- assess a student’s learning and behaviour
- help teachers and students identify and address disabilities that may affect learning
- liaise with other agencies regarding student wellbeing.
School counselling is confidential.
For more information about learning and support teams and the school counselling service, please contact your school.
- Every Government School has access to a school counsellor
- School counsellors are teachers who have a degree in psychology and post graduate qualifications in school counselling.
- School counsellors work with students of all ages, and their families, from preschool to Year 12
- School counsellors work with students, parents and teachers in a variety of ways. Their work includes:
* counselling students
* assisting parents or carers to make informed decisions about their child's education
* assessing students learning and behaviour
* assisting schools to identify and address disabilities that affect students learning
* liaising with other agencies concerned with the well being of students
- School counsellors are members of the school student welfare team and learning teams. School counsellors will pass on to teachers, with the agreement of parents or carers, information that will assist them to better meet the needs of their students.
- Parents or carers may seek advice from school counsellors about their child's school progress, educational options, including access to special education services, behaviour and information about help available from other agencies.
- School counselling is a confidential service and school counsellors will check with students, parents and carers before passing on information (such as the results of tests of learning difficulties) to others. This presumption of confidentiality can be overridden only by specific legal requirements (e.g. Child protection) or where someone may suffer serious harm if information is withheld.
- School counsellors are not at every school every day so it is necessary to make an appointment with a school counsellor by telephoning the school and completing some paperwork before an appointment is made. Priorities for the school counsellor's time will be determined, in consultation with the school counsellor, by the School Principal.