Work to find enough qualified counsellors to help Aberdeenshire Council’s school pupils with their mental health has taken a step forward, 10 months after education bosses signed off on the plans.
The north-east local authority has been unable to recruit as many as recently introduced Scottish Government rules dictate.
A search has now been launched to find a company to train and supervise new counsellors in the council’s schools, as well as providing insight for those already in similar roles.
Aberdeenshire Council is to use nearly £200,000 of government funding to pay for preparation of staff to earn a diploma in counselling.
Plans are also in place to recruit two qualified and experienced staff, as well as training up 10 of their own.
In the 2018-19 Programme For Government, ministers revealed a commitment to have 350 new counsellors in Scotland’s school, with councils provided with the money to fulfil that pledge.
Aberdeenshire councillors were briefed in January on a national shortfall of qualified counsellors – leading to this search for a senior practitioner and training capabilities.
Principal educational psychologist, Carron Douglas, told members of the local authority’s education committee that mental health was “one of the biggest challenges” facing pupils in the region, adding the recruitment would help to avoid a “postcode lottery” where only some young people would receive help.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Government has announced an extra £1.3 million to improve mental health and wellbeing support for students.
The cash will allow colleges and universities to enhance current provision and could be used to expand counselling services, deliver more support online or improve their ability to check on the welfare of students.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “We know that students have faced some particular pressures since the start of the new academic term, many of them will be away from home for the first time, which is always a difficult adjustment for young people to make, but in addition to that they are having to adapt to new forms of learning and socialising, and of course many students have also had to deal with the challenges of self-isolation.”
Hundreds of students in Aberdeen have been forced into exile due to outbreaks at halls of residence and shared flats since the start of the academic year.
The first minister said the funding should “help all students get the right support whenever they need it”.
