The school guidance counselling service is administered by a professionally trained School Guidance Counsellor. The Guidance Counsellor, as part of a school team, focuses primarily on the personal and social, educational and vocational development of her students. The aim of the service is to professionally answer the guidance and counselling needs of the student (the central figure in the learning process) in the context of the overall school mission below.
“Scoil Mhuire seeks to develop the full potential of each individual girl in a caring atmosphere of mutual respect and cooperation. Our aspiration is to maintain a balance between academic achievement and the development of moral integrity through the nurturing of the enquiring mind and spirituality of each girl”.
The philosophy of Scoil Mhuire is to provide a safe and secure learning environment where students are guided and encourage to excel both academically and socially as valued members of the school community. A key factor in this will be the development of a professional and committed staff but also the support and positivity of parents/guardians and the wider community. The core values of excellence, honesty and respect will permeate all aspects of school life and we will endeavour to live up to those values. For a student entering Scoil Mhuire they can expect to receive a high quality education and reap the rewards of their hard work, collaboration and positive contribution to the school community.
The Guidance Counselling Service includes counselling, which is an interactive learning process between counsellor and student, whether individual or group, which approaches, in a holistic way, personal, educational and/or vocational issues. Moreover, the availability of a counselling service can support individual students inside/outside the classroom context, the pastoral and the disciplinary structures in the school. Competitiveness, bullying, social exclusion, family crisis, scholastic under-achievement, abuse, homophobia, peer pressure, substance mis-use and racism are some of the problems which can be assisted with the support of counselling.
Individual Counselling – is an interactive process, which facilitates meaningful understanding of the self and environment and/or clarification of goals and values for future behaviour.
Group Counselling – is a broad term covering types of counselling for more than two people. In group counselling members listen to, support and challenge each other and thus, learn to be open, constructive, assertive and to experience how others see them.
Peer Counselling – occurs on limited and well prepared occasions where pupils help and support each other on topics educational and vocational but not necessarily on personal issues.
It is essential that a counselling service within the school operates in collaboration with processes within the school, which promotes the wellbeing of the school, particularly the pastoral care team. Working within the requirements of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors Code of Ethics, ensures that the service is properly supervised and monitored so that the student needs are prioritised and their rights protected.
Guidance Counselling and Wellbeing
Scoil Mhuire is committed to the academic, creative, emotional, spiritual and physical development of each student, in a caring and safe environment. The wellbeing of the whole school community is at the heart of our school’s ethos. Whole school wellbeing has been introduced in order to allow the school to adequately respond to the changing and diverse needs of our students. The Guidance Counsellor is committed to the nurturing of the whole person so that they may be guided with care and respect to respond to the demands of modern life with resilience, optimism and ownership.