Because of a lack of qualified professionals the Government has expanded the pool of who is eligible to fill school counsellor positions, but registered counsellors are flagging safety risks
Counsellors are concerned the criteria to be a part of the Counsellors in Schools programme has been weakened and could put children at risk.
The programme began in November 2021 and funds more than 220 schools to contract counsellors into their schools. READ MORE: * Rural schools cry out for mental health support * Keeping kids in school
It does not fund a permanent counsellor to a school, but allows schools to engage an external provider to come and provide services on site.
Education Minister Jan Tinetti said the programme’s rollout had faced a number of challenges, including a shortage of qualified counsellors.
“The original [request for proposal] attracted only national providers who could not deliver the service to remote school communities as well as first anticipated [and] there is a critical shortage of qualified and experienced counselling practitioners in New Zealand.
“It was harder to provide some schools with counselling practitioners that the school community were happy to work with.”
Tinetti said Covid-19 and recent severe weather events had also disrupted the rollout, and changes had been made.
“To mitigate these challenges the ministry has developed a direct sourcing model for recruiting providers and counselling practitioners where the regions can work with smaller counselling providers who did not engage with the national RFP process.
“[And] re-designed the service from a traditional model of counselling to a service which better suits the school environment, culture, students, and whānau."
This captured a much bigger range of practitioners, including Equine Therapy facilitators, Master Carvers, Rongoā Māori Practitioners, creative art therapists and music therapists alongside counsellors, social workers, occupational therapists, psychotherapists, psychologists and mental health nurses.
"Kids need that safe place to come and talk about all of that hard stuff with someone who knows what they're doing, because it's easy to get it wrong and then kids lives are at risk." - Sarah Maindonald
However, New Zealand Association of Counsellors president Sarah Maindonald said the changes raised safety issues.
“When it started, we had three criteria: someone had to be registered with a professional body, engaged in ongoing professional development. and qualified. Now they only have to have one of those.
“So that really worries me about the safety … It means you could have no counsellor training, no training in mental health, managing suicide risk, all of that stuff.”
She said some children presented with serious issues, and it was vital these were managed appropriately.
"Kids make disclosures about family violence or make disclosures about sexual harm. They talk about mental health … kids need that safe place to come and talk about all of that hard stuff with someone who knows what they're doing, because it's easy to get it wrong and then kids lives are at risk."
Tinetti said there were processes in place to ensure safety.
“Counselling practitioners are either registered with a professional body, or work under the supervision of a practitioner who is registered to a professional body.
“The Ministry Lead Advisor Wellbeing has regular updates from both the school and the provider to make sure the service is well delivered.”
Maindonald said access to a service was also problematic because the programme did not fund permanent on-site counsellors, making it difficult for children to self-refer.
“They’re often just referred by the teacher, and it means that the children can't have the agency to say ‘I want to go and see the counsellor’ and just go … that self-referral aspect is really critical.
“Because you never know what a child is carrying until they're sitting in front of you. There might be all kinds of things going on in families you don't know [and] they're not going to tell their parents in a million years.”
"The current approach is a band aid and a result of rationing funding, not what is best to meet the needs of tamariki." - NZEI Te Riu Roa
A spokesperson for the primary schools union NZEI said principals wanted more say about which schools were eligible to be part of the initiative.
"Currently, the Ministry of Education determines which schools receive funding for the Counselling in Schools initiative. Counselling is an invaluable service to tamariki, and it's important that principals be brought into the conversation around the selection process.
"Several principal members of NZEI Te Riu Roa report they haven't been selected for the Counselling in Schools initiative but have students desperately in need of the service. The current approach is a band aid and a result of rationing funding, not what is best to meet the needs of tamariki.
"The only way to make sure all tamarki that need counselling get it and to make the process fair, equitable and transparent is to resource all schools to have, or be able to access, counselling services for their students."
So far $12.5 million of the $44m set aside in Budget 2020 had been spent. Tinetti said providers invoiced the ministry for their work at their convenience.
A May review of the scheme by the Education Review Office pointed to the fact only registered counsellors were originally supposed to be delivering the service.
“Due to a limited supply of registered counsellors, the decision was made to expand the criteria to include practitioners who are registered with a professional body.
“In order to reflect the diverse contexts and needs across communities and regions, practitioners who are not registered with a professional body were also included. Those not registered are required under contract to work under the supervision of a registered counselling practitioner and to have an appropriate qualification.”
These changes were reflected by an increase in providers from nine to 42.
The review found the majority of children accessing the service were Māori, and the most common reasons for referral were behaviour, relationships, and anxiety.
“The majority of learners … are positive about their experience. They feel listened to, that their practitioner understands their culture and language, and that they are given strategies that work.”
It reported most felt better in themselves after accessing help.
It said though schools were making the majority of referrals, there were some instances of self-referrals.
Further fieldwork will occur in term one next year, with another report on progress due in May 2024.
The next report is expected to look into the issue of practitioner qualifications and suitability.
