Support a student

Training and professional development

Pastoral work is often challenging and complex and so the right training is essential. Many larger schoolswork organisations provide their own training programme and some offer their training to other schoolsworkers and smaller organisations too.

However, there are also plenty of other places to find training and support for this kind of schoolswork:

Courses and qualifications

Many colleges and universities run part time and evening courses in counselling and other related subjects. These courses have the advantage of having recognition and validation across many contexts, including education. Although they are a significant investment of time and money, they can equip you to offer a far more professional and effective service to schools. Some Christian organisations also run courses which include training in pastoral work, either full or part time. Check out the ‘professional development’ pages of the schoolswork.co.uk website to find out more.

Books

There are many books published on the subject of the pastoral care of young people in education. If you’re serious about offering this kind of service to schools, you may like to get hold of some or all of the best of these. You’ll find more information on the ‘professional development’ pages of schoolswork.co.uk.

Visits and observations

With hundreds of schoolsworkers across the UK, you may find it helpful to visit a project that is already working in this field. Whilst it may not be training in the sense of a course or programme of study, a huge amount can be gleaned from seeing what others are doing. A model of good practice may be to put aside a couple of days a year to visit other Christian schools projects. You can use the database of projects in the links area of the schoolswork.co.uk website to find out who’s working near you.

Good practice guidelines

Providing pastoral support in a school setting raises some important issues about developing good practice in the way you work with students. In almost all situations, you will be subject to the school’s own requirements and you should find out if there are any written policies or guidelines. Some of the issues that might be raised include:

CRB disclosures

Even if you have a CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) disclosure from a church or other body, it is common to have to complete another CRB check through the school. Normally working with children requires an Enhanced Disclosure.

Record keeping

Schools may have procedures and paperwork for recording pastoral work with students. You may be required to follow these rather than any systems you may have as a church or schoolswork organisation. Even if there are no requirements from the school, it is important to keep a record of your contact with a student, including when, where, what was discussed and any other relevant material. You should make sure these notes comply with any requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998. You should also note that, unlike many counselling situaions with young people outside schools, parents may have a right to see your notes.

Parental permission

Despite many changes in the law regarding a young person’s ability to seek help without parental permission, schools are very different contexts. It is a parent’s right to be consulted if a student is being given pastoral support, taken out of a lesson or, most importantly, taken anywhere off school premises. Schools workers should follow the schools guidelines closely and make sure that they do not end up compromising themselves, the student or the school.

Working with students of a different gender

Schools workers will need to think carefully about whether they work with a student of the opposite gender in a pastoral context which may involve one-to-one work and the sharing of personal information. Again, it’s important to agree what is appropriate with the school. Group work is an easier context to work in this way, although it is preferable to have both a male and female leader for this kind of work.

Meeting in an appropriate context

Suitable places to meet a student might include:

• Rooms set aside for the purpose of pastoral work
• The school library
• Meeting rooms where the door can be left open
• Rooms with windows into central common areas

• Classrooms after school when others have gone
• Rooms used as a walkthrough or which will be regularly disturbed
• Rooms isolated from the rest of school (eg. a portacabin)

Working one-to-one

Supporting a particular student can make a huge impact on them and their school experience. Even with comprehensive pastoral systems, schools often will not have the resources to spend extra time with students suffering from bereavement, struggling with a personal issue or finding it hard to cope in some other way. The impact a friendly and supportive adult can have is huge. For many Christian schools workers, this kind of work is the most rewarding and exciting kind of input they can offer.

Working one-to-one might involve a range of contacts with a particular student: you may be meeting them regularly as an appointed time each week, but also having further input informally at breaks and lunchtimes. The student may even also be in an anger management or other therapeutic group that you are running. Outside of school, you may be able to visit the student’s home, liaise with parents and act as an advocate to both parents and school staff.

This kind of work involves considerable skills in keeping the right boundaries and getting the balance between being a adult friend to the student and representing the school and their wishes. For example, you may find yourself listening to a pupil talking about their difficulties with a member of staff, and their view that the teacher involved in unreasonable in some way. You may also find the school insisting that the real issue lies with the student and asking you to bring the student round to that view. These kinds of dilemmas and issues and implicit in pastoral work in schools and you will have to tread carefully to make sure you make the right choices. Having some supervision ijn your work is essential in these kind of situations and a it’s good practice to have someone, either in or outside the school, who you can refer to for guidance and wisdom. Talking through your feelings and experiences also helps schools workers cope with some of the highly emotional and challenging situations they may face. For example, working with a student who is self harming can be traumatic and emotionally draining. Schools workers need to have the right pastoral care for themselves to make sure they cope with these situations and are able to give their best to students.

Despite these potential pitfalls, supporting a student remains one of the most rewarding and powerful ways for schools workers to contribute to a school. Developing the expertise needed and following good practice will give you a strong base to make a real difference.

Feel free to use and distribute this guide but please acknowledge schoolswork.co.uk as the source.