It has emerged today that the Irish government plan on making dramatic cuts to the provision of guidance and counselling services to second level schools. Currently guidance hours are allocated to schools based on the number of pupils in the school - see this circular for more information. This provision is outside the normal teacher / pupil ratio. However, the upcoming budget looks set to remove the ex-quota allocation of guidance counsellors, instead including the service with the normal teacher / pupil ratio.
Such a change in guidance provision would have a devastating effect on the provision of guidance and counselling in Irish second level schools and will see guidance competing with subject areas within the general school allocation and non-timetabled counselling. This will ultimately lead to job cuts - most likely to guidance counsellors but also to general second level subject teachers.
There are a number of serious concerns to this proposed change. The adoption of such a policy would mean many students - principally the most vulnerable - could be without access to one to one counselling support for a wide range of personal problems and issues including low self esteem, family breakdown, mental health issues, self harm, bereavement , stress management and more.
Students need guidance services to help them make important educational, career and personal decisions - right throughout their school years - while guidance counsellors are extremely important to the pastoral care structures of secondary schools in Ireland.
The Institute of Guidance Counsellors (IGC), in a statement earlier today, point out every students' right is to ‘appropriate guidance’ is mandated under section 9 (c ) of the Education Act. The Teaching Union of Ireland have also come out strongly against the proposed changes calling the cuts "unthinkable". The IGC are also calling for their members to lobby their local politicians, managerial bodies and trade unions in an effort to stop the government making these proposed cuts.
I think this is pure madness! I'd like to hear your opinion.
As a mother of two highly able teen students, I am not pleased with this either, in fact, my feeling is that there is to little time as it is, and to few Counsellors, Guidance or otherwise in the system, especially during these stressful economic times, during which many many kids, especially secondary, are worried and dispondent about their futures, let alone all the other issues so many of them deal with during normal times.. I can only visualize more problems ahead...
ReplyDeleteWhen I left school in 2008, there were counsellors there, however few people used them, there was the odd question to the counsellors if you saw them in the corridor, but you never went into their office with them and had a one to one for an hour or too. They were more of a guiding hand, what pointed you in the right direction. We are in a recession and the government has to cut something in every sector, whether we like it or not, if they want to reduce the hours, it seems fine. Most of the guidance counsellors are teachers in the school, so they are not really losing their jobs. We no longer have economic sovereignty, savings have to be made!!!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately you are wrong on a couple of points. Firstly, Guidance Counsellors are not just teachers in the school. All guidance counsellors working in Irish schools hold at least a graduate diploma or a masters in Guidance & Counselling. They are highly qualified individuals with very specific skills. They are also require to attend guidance supervision, meeting other counsellors on a regular basis to review their work and obtain advice on specific cases. They also undergo a series of professional development courses right throughout the year, the the IGC.
ReplyDeleteThe loss of guidance counsellors will result in around 800 job losses in the secondary education sector - some will be counsellors and some will be subject teachers. It will be the responsibility of the principal to decide who is prioritised. There is a situation where a principal may decide to use teaching staff as guidance practitioners, which is neither fair on them or the students - they simply aren't qualified for the role.
I know of some schools which will be asking the parents to coff up the funds to maintain guidance within the school, through volunatry contributions. I am extremely surprised that parents have not been more vocal on this issue.