Burford School - Counselling

Counselling

The Counselling Service at Burford School is an integrated part of the school’s pastoral care provision. The service is based on the principle that we learn best when we feel confident, secure and valued. All sorts of things can interrupt and get in the way of our learning. Sometimes people or situations in our lives can make us feel useless, angry, sad and nervous. Counselling is an opportunity to talk through these things with someone who is trained in order to begin to change the way we feel about and behave towards ourselves and others. Becca Howard-Burrell sees students by appointment during lesson time. Each appointment lasts half a lesson (about 25 minutes). When someone is seeing Becca regularly over several weeks the appointment time will vary to avoid disrupting schoolwork. Some people refer themselves to Becca and sometimes Heads of Year or other staff may suggest talking to the counsellor might be beneficial. Sometimes parents refer their own children and at other times peers recommend that a friend comes along. There are opportunities for Becca to see friends together to help discuss issues that are affecting both of them. Everything said to Becca is kept confidential unless the person is in danger in some way. Every lunchtime there is a board games club at school run by Becca in the old Caretakers House. This is an opportunity for students to have a safe place to be when lunchtimes may be difficult. Here they have their own budget to buy games and equipment, draw up their own rules and learn to work together in a positive environment. It is an open group where students can drop in, have a chat and feel safe. There are a variety of ways students are referred to Becca. There are forms available to all students outside the Medical Room and Becca’s room for students to self refer. Sometimes Form Tutors or Heads of Year refer students they have concerns about, usually in consultation with the students themselves. A green slip in an envelope is issued to students informing them of their appointment time and staff receive a green slip letting them know if a student will be missing a portion of their lesson (the green slip for teachers is for information only or in some cases a discrete reminder). Students who have counselling do not have to inform their parents because of the Data Protection Act 1998 but it is advised.