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Information
Counselling in Schools Service
H e rtfo rd s h i re C o u n ty C o u n c i l
C hildren, Schools and Families
C ounty Hall, P egs Lane, Hertford, SG 13 8DF
w w w . h e rts d i re c t. o rg
What is the Counselling in Schools Service?
The Counselling in Schools Service (CISS) sits within Services for Young People within
Children, Schools and Families (CSF). The service was established to provide
emotional health and well-being support for children and young people aged 5-19 years
within educational establishments in Hertfordshire.
Service Aim
As a service we are committed to delivering quality assured therapy that provides
children and young people with a safe and confidential space to work through any
issues that they may be experiencing . Through counselling and arts therapy we aim to
empower children and young people to find their own way of dealing with their thoughts
and feelings.
I knew from my experience that children do not learn how to read and
write and do maths when they are feeling terrible about themselves. I
had already discovered in my work with children that when I took the
time to do therapy with them and help them get out some of their blocked
feelings, they did much better in their academic work.
Quote from V. Oaklander (1988) Windows to our children

What Services do we offer?

The Counselling in Schools Service currently offers the following:
Counselling*
Art Therapy
Drama Therapy
Group Work e.g. Transition Groups (preparing for move to Middle / Secondary School)
Consultancy on setting up a quality assured counselling service in single schools
and extended school consortiums
Listening Skills Training for staff
* counsellors have play therapy skills which allow them to work with the younger age
group and children and young people with a learning difficulty / disability.
As the Service is needs led we have responded to requests from Schools across
Hertfordshire and are piloting the following new streams of support:
Working with school staff
Family work assisting the family with short term interventions to support the child /
young person in therapy
What is Counselling?
Counselling offers people a non-judgmental space to discuss issues that are affecting
their every day lives in a safe and confidential setting. Issues explored vary according to
each individual but usually can be linked to stress, relationships, change, loss and
distressing / traumatic events.
What is Arts Therapy?
Arts therapy offers people a creative alternative to counselling. Art or drama is used as
the primary means of communication to allow an individual an opportunity to express
their thoughts and feelings in a safe and confidential environment.
Why have counselling in a school?
Like most of us children and young people can find that their ability to concentrate and
/ or their behaviour is affected when they are trying to deal with difficult issues. Allowing
them a safe, confidential space to explore these issues can enable them to achieve their
full potential both personally and academically.
The Childrens Rights Alliance for England (CRAE) What do they know? report identified
that out of 138 children and young people interviewed 82% felt that counselling services
should be available to them. Over three quarters of these children and young people
thought that Counselling should be based within a school.
What are the benefits of providing Counselling /
Arts Therapy for pupils?
For pupils the benefits can include:
Improved self-esteem
Reducing the risk of exclusion
Improvements in behaviour and / or attendance
Improved peer relationships
Better attainment / achievement
What are the benefits of buying in the Counselling
in Schools Service?
The Counselling in Schools Service provides the following benefits:
Ten years of experience in delivering counselling in school settings
Quality Assured service
Hertfordshire wide coverage
Experienced staff with a range of therapeutic tools e.g. play therapy skills
Experience of providing therapy to children / young people with additional needs
Annual or Short Term contracts to allow consistency / flexibility of provision
Ability to respond quickly in a crisis
Ability to follow a child or young person through educational establishments in
Hertfordshire e.g. Primary to Secondary to support transition
INSET training for staff
Established policies and procedures for implementing service provision and
maintaining quality assurance
Service delivery supports a range of local strategies Children and Young Peoples
plan and Emotional Health and Well-being (CAMHS) strategy for Hertfordshire
Links with universal, targeted and specialist services to provide support to child /
young person and schools where appropriate i.e. Child and Adolescent Mental
Health Services (CAMHS)
Its made an amazing difference.

Round Diamond School.

Youre worth every penny.

Barclays School.
How can the Counselling in Schools Service
support schools with the Healthy Schools
programme and Ofsted Inspections?
Healthy Schools:
Currently in order to achieve healthy schools status a school must meet 41 minimum
criteria across 4 themes including Emotional Health & Well-being. In Hertfordshire, 98%
of schools are participating in the programme. The government would like all schools
to be engaged in the enhancement model by 2020.
Schools will be expected to maintain the universal provision established through achieving
healthy school status. This will be done in the form of an online tool called the Annual
Review. Counselling provision may be used to evidence the following sections of the
annual review:
1.4 - How does your school identify children and young people facing challenging
circumstances? Which groups have been identified? What support is provided for these
identified groups?
6.1 - What arrangements are in place to refer children and young people to specialist
services which can give professional advice?
6.2 - What mechanisms are in place for children and young people, parents/carers and
staff to access advice confidentially?
8.1 - Please list the external agencies that support your school for the following and
briefly explain the role that they perform: Emotional health and well-being.
The enhanced Healthy schools programme is an outcome based model for improving
the health and well-being of children and young people, which will:
Involve a mixture of school-based, local and national priorities, which will be flexibly
developed by schools in conjunction with key partners.
Provide universal and targeted health interventions.
One of the priorities for the enhancement model is emotional well-being. Schools will
identify outcomes around emotional well-being and develop a project to meet those
outcomes as part of the enhancement model. The Counselling in Schools Service may
be able to contribute through the provision of data, supporting the task group or be
involved in the implementation in some way.
He still gets cross at home, but he can stop and think
about why now and is able to talk about why he does it
so we can understand.

Ofsted:
The impact of counselling provision can contribute to the following areas of the Ofsted
inspection, pupil outcomes, provision and leadership and management. Specific
judgements within these areas include the extent to which pupils adopt healthy lifestyles
(A2.7), effectiveness of care, guidance and support (A3.3) and the effectiveness of
partnerships in promoting learning and well-being (A4.5).
The Counselling in Schools Service may also be cited as part of individual case studies.
How is the service quality assured?
The Counselling in Schools Service offers the following quality assurance standards:
Therapists are Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) and will be Independent Safeguarding
Authority (ISA) registered
Counsellors are qualified to Diploma level and beyond; Arts Therapists to Masters level
Therapists have Professional Indemnity Insurance
Therapists work confidentially (except when a child or young person is at significant
risk of harm from self or others)
Individual and group clinical supervision provided for Counsellors
CSF line management for Counsellors
Counsellors accredited / working towards accreditation with the BACP (British
Association of Counselling & Psychotherapy)
Counsellors receive regular training to enhance their practice.
When can Counselling / Arts Therapy be helpful?
When parents are going through divorce or separation and there are signs of
changes in behaviour / distress
When there is evidence of a behavioural change such as becoming withdrawn
or disruptive
Following the death of a family member or a friend
When there is knowledge or suspicion of some form of abuse or domestic violence
When there are difficulties with friendships and / or bullying
When a child or young person is new to the school, area or country and is having
difficulty settling in or integrating
When a young person is angry, erratic or shows mood swings or signs of
possible depression
When there are identity issues i.e. gender, cultural
If there are health or disability issues such as life limiting illnesses
When a child or young person refuses to engage with specialist services.
Counselling can be used very effectively as an early intervention strategy to prevent the
deterioration of a child or young persons emotional health and well-being. It can
enhance a pupils self-esteem and enable them to cope more effectively within a school
setting, both socially and academically.
The more entrenched the issues that a child or young person is dealing with the more
difficult it is for counselling to be used as a preventative measure. It can mean that a
longer, more intensive piece of work is required or a child or young person may be less
inclined to engage with the therapist.
I know it changed me a lot because it changed my attitude and
behaviour. Cos Ive been more helpful round school and at home a
lot and Ive been more kind to people instead of being rough. Im
playing with the younger kids instead of people from my class.

Who is Counselling / Arts Therapy not appropriate for?

Children / Young People who do not want to / do not understand why they
are attending
All therapeutic work is dependent on a child or young person engaging with the process
and as such it is important a child or young person understands why they are being
referred for therapy and that they are willing to participate.
Children / Young People requiring a specialist mental health assessment or diagnosis
Counselling in Schools Service therapists do not carry out mental health assessments,
diagnose or prescribe. If during the course of Counselling / Arts Therapy specialist
mental health needs are identified therapists are able to support schools in accessing
specialist services as and when appropriate.
Where a school identifies a pupil / family who will not engage with specialist mental
health services CISS is, where appropriate, able to work in partnership with CAMHS
(Child and Adolescent Mental Health services) to ensure that an intervention is delivered
to support the child or young persons emotional / mental health and well-being.
Children and Young People receiving therapy from another service
The Counselling in Schools Service will not usually work with a child or young person
who is receiving a therapeutic intervention from another service. This is an ethical
decision taken to prevent any confusion for a child or young person and avoid any
possible contamination of work. On occasion as part of a therapeutic package being
offered by CAMHS we may work alongside one another to support a child or young
person and their family but this work would be delivered within clear boundaries.
I have seen such a difference in my child, Ive decided to have counselling too.

I didnt know this service existed in schools, I am so pleased.

I wish my daughter had received counselling sooner. Thank

you, youve made such a difference to our lives.

What should we have in place before we set up

Counselling / Arts Therapy in our school?
In order for an effective, quality assured therapy service to be established the following
need to have been identified within a school before work can begin:
Accommodation for the therapist: A fit for purpose room for delivering the therapy
needs to be available e.g. one that is the same each week, comfortable and private
but not isolated.
A referral process: Schools need to consider if a child or young person will refer
themselves to the Counsellor / Arts Therapist or if referrals will be managed through
someone in the school e.g. Head Teacher or SENCO. The service can advise on
setting this up.
Referral criteria: Where a process will be put in place for referrals to be managed it
is helpful to consider what criteria will be used to identify pupils who are most in need
of Counselling / Arts Therapy. It is also helpful to have this in writing.
A named Child Protection Liaison Officer: This is vital in ensuring any disclosures
arising from the work are taken forward in line with Hertfordshire Safeguarding Board
Child Protection procedures. This relationship will also be used to feedback any
non-confidential strategies that may support the school in working with the
child/young person e.g. child/young person needs time out after therapy.
A process for gaining Parental Consent (Primary Schools): A range of options
exist that the service can advise on e.g. sending an opt out letter to all parents before
work begins. Counselling / Arts Therapy works best when it is supported by a parent
/ carer and as such therapists working within Primary Schools will offer to meet
with Parents before the work begins.
How quickly can you respond?
We aim to respond to initial enquiries within two working days. The time taken to set up
the service within a school / schools will depend on the size of the contract and capacity
within the service at the time of the request. In order to accommodate need we strive
to offer a limited service whilst a new therapist is recruited.
Any attempt to remove the principle of confidentiality in
counselling will rapidly undermine the overall ethos of
the school as a caring educational community.
Roger Casemore, Confidentiality & School Counselling, BACP 1995

What happens if Child Protection issues arise / a

disclosure is made?
At the beginning of any work a contract is set up between the therapist and the child or
young person explaining the boundaries of confidentiality. It makes clear that if a child
or young person is considered to be at risk of significant harm from others or to
themselves as a result of information that is disclosed, the therapist will need to share
this with the Designated Child Protection lead in the school to help keep them as safe
as possible.
The Counsellor / Arts Therapist would look to obtain the child or young persons
permission to share information. Any decision that is taken by the therapist with regards
to breaking confidentiality will be done in the best interests of the child or young person.
What information will we share with you?
Within the boundaries of confidentiality our therapists will look to share strategies and
information that does not compromise the integrity of the work that is being carried out.
If the Counsellor / Arts Therapist believes it would be beneficial they may work with a
child or young person to empower them to share information with their family or with the
school themselves rather than speaking on their behalf.
The Counselling in Schools Service recognises how frustrating confidentiality can be for
schools and as such therapists are encouraged to work confidentially but not in isolation.
at last someone who listens to me
He' s really enjoying the sessions. He told me

How does the Counselling in Schools Service

support Integrated Practice?
Schools commissioning the service are paying for Counsellors / Arts Therapist to deliver
face to face therapy each week. This means that therapists are unable to attend CAF
(Common Assessment Framework) meetings and TAC (Team Around the Child)
meetings in person unless the time reserved for the child or young person is used
instead. However, a short report can be submitted which will be agreed with the child
or young person to help feed into the process.
If a Counsellor is off sick what happens?
If a Counsellor / Arts Therapist is off sick we would ask them to make up the
session they have missed at an alternative time. We do recognise though that this is
not always possible.
What happens if the school contract needs to
increase / decrease?
Schools who commission our service can choose either an annual or short term
contract. Whilst we do not work for less than one term with a child or young person
(unless they choose to end the work), we recognise it can be difficult to anticipate the
level of need within a school each year. As such, contracts can be increased /
decreased to meet demand provided that there is sufficient capacity within the service.
Do we need parental consent before a child or
young person can access Counselling?
No work can be undertaken without a school providing a signed Single Service Request
(SSR) form or a copy of a Common Assessment Framework (CAF). In Primary Schools
parents are asked to sign the form as a means of giving written parental consent to the
work. Most secondary schools allow their pupils to sign SSR forms in place of a
parents signature as a means of allowing them to access counselling confidentially.
My head has been a lot better. It used to be full of worries
but now its got a lot less worries in it.

Things havent changed at home, but I think differently now.

As a general principle it is legal and acceptable for a young

person to ask for confidential counselling without parental
consent provi di ng they are of suffi ci ent understandi ng
and intelligence.
Gillick v West Norfolk AHA, House of Lords 1985