INSTITUTE OF GUIDANCE COUNSELLORS

Transcription

1 INSTITUTE OF GUIDANCE COUNSELLORS NATIONAL AUDIT OF GUIDANCE COUNSELLING PRACTICE IN SECOND LEVEL SCHOOLS & COLLEGES OF FURTHER EDUCATION IN IRELAND REPORT OF FINDINGS PHASE 3

2 FOREWARD The Institute of Guidance of Guidance Counsellors (IGC) are pleased to publish the results of their National audit of guidance counselling provision in second level schools and colleges of further education in Ireland, which was initially commissioned by its National Executive in February 2012 arising from the Budget 2012 decision to remove the ex-quota allocation for guidance counselling that operated in Irish schools. The decision to initiate a series of National audits stemmed from concerns that many students would not now receive the essential supports necessary to allow them to achieve their potential and progress their educational goals, commensurate with their aptitudes and abilities. The Institute feared that while all students would be affected by the change, the disadvantaged and vulnerable students would suffer most. However, we had no hard evidence to substantiate our fears or concerns, hence the decision to undertake this series of annual National audits. An important part of the audit was to ascertain evidence in quantitative terms of the amount of practice time lost; the areas impacted by this loss; the effect on access to one-to-one counselling; and the effect on the role of guidance counsellor in terms of where these loss hours were now spent. I would like to put on record our sincere thanks to Sheelagh Beatty, LifeCare Psychological Services Limited, who undertook the analysis of the audit and worked tirelessly to get the results to us as quickly as possible. I would also like to record our thanks to all who completed the National audits, despite their very busy work schedules. While the academic year bore the initial brunt of the stark reduction in hours, the audit has revealed that this very worrying trend has continued. Many young people continue to remain unable to access the assistance of guidance counsellors when they most need them. Findings show that there has been a further erosion of 15.2% in time for one-toone counselling, on top of the 51.4% loss in This amounts to a combined overall loss of 58.8% since the removal of the ex-quota allocation of hours. Audit results further highlight a continuing reduction of the hours allocated to the guidance counselling service of 2.9%, in addition to the loss of 21.4% in , resulting in an overall service loss of 23.7% over the two academic years, with significant variations among school types. 2

3 In order to determine where the reduction of 23.7% of practice time was now spent, analyses showed that 84.1% was spent in the classroom teaching non-guidance counselling related teaching i.e. 62.6% subject teaching; 23.8% SPHE; and 13.6% Other. This equates to one in five guidance counsellors now performing as full-time teachers or 168 guidance counsellors being removed from the guidance counselling service in Irish schools. This clearly highlights that there now exists a very uneven and very disjointed service in our schools and colleges of further education. Students are the real losers as we are witnessing a major reduction of the core elements of the student support services in schools which have been slowly built up over many years. We are not alone in our findings. Our findings are supported by the Review of Guidance Counselling provision in second level schools conducted by the National Centre for Guidance Excellence (NCGE) on behalf of the Department of Education and Science (DES) and the NCGE Management of Guidance Committee. This research found a mean hours allocated decease from 24 ( ) to 17.8 hours ( ), and recommended that the exquota allocation for guidance in schools should be restored as a priority. Guidance counsellors in schools across the country represent a unique network of skilled professionals who have direct access to young people to assist them with guidance and direction on their future career paths; and in promoting positive mental health while dealing with issues such as bullying, stress, self-harm, low self-esteem, etc, on a daily basis. A lot of counselling work is about prevention; about identifying and reducing potential problems at source. Much of this under the radar work by guidance counsellors is not now taking place, resulting in unattended problems presenting in a more critical state later, and requiring external resource-hungry supports, which are already experiencing long delays. The Institute has indicated its willingness to engage Government Departments to examine how these scarce resources can be best utilised for the benefit of all young people in our care. Gerry Flynn President 3

4 FOREWARD LIST OF TABLE PHASE 3: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Practice Hours Impact of Loss by School Type Breakdown of Practice Hours Qualified & Unqualified Staff Attendance at Supervision Use of External Providers of Services Recommendations SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION & CONTEXT Aims Context Structure of the Report SECTION 2: METHODOLOGY SECTION 3: FINDINGS & ANALYSIS Respondent Characteristics School Location School Type Allocation of hours for Guidance Counselling: Breakdown of allocated hours: Impact of loss by school type Breakdown of time-tabled classroom hours: Breakdown of qualified practicing and non-practicing guidance counsellors Use of external providers of guidance counselling Free to attend supervision/cpd SECTION 4: RECOMMENDATIONS ARISING FROM THE AUDIT

5 LIST OF TABLES SECTION 3: Table 1.1: Respondent schools in each Phase of the Audit Table 1.2: Respondent schools by Location Table 1.3: Schools by School Type Table 1.4: Respondent schools with PLC & DEIS Status Table 1.5: Schools Providing GC Services Table 1.6: Breakdown of Weekly GC Allocated Hours Table 1:7: Comparison of GC Hours Table 1.8: Impact of Loss in Allocation by School Type Table 1.9: Breakdown of Weekly Time-Tabled Classroom Hours Table 1:10: Breakdown of Time-Tabled Classroom Hours: and Table 1.11: Breakdown of Weekly Time-Tabled Classes by Student Year Table 1.12: Qualified Guidance & Counselling Staff Table 1.13: Unqualified Staff Providing Guidance Counselling Table 1.14: Qualified Practicing & Non-Practicing Guidance Counsellors Table 1.15: External Providers of Guidance Counselling Table 1.16: Analysis of GC s Free to Attend Supervision/CPD ` Table 1.17: Analysis of Reasons for GC s Non-Release

6 PHASE 3: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Here are highlighted some of the important and concerning findings, based on analyses of actual data from all respondent schools (n=219), all were allocated hours from the general schools allocation for , and receiving a weekly mean hour allocation of Practice Hours When this allocation was analysed, comparing Phase 3 and Phase 2 respondent schools (n=191) who supplied these data for both academic years, it was found that, in addition to the decrease in practice hours of -21.4% in the academic year, there was a further decrease of -2.9% in the allocation, bringing the overall combined loss of hours to -23.7% over the actual practice hours Given that actual practice hours in were -5.7% below actual DES allocation, the loss is even greater at -28.1%. When this loss was interrogated, results showed that for the academic year timetabled classroom delivery of guidance decreased by -5.9%, and one-to-one counselling decreased by -15.2%. From to , a continuing trend of the further erosion of guidance counselling hours was evident, with respondents reporting an overall increase of 12.8% in time-tabled classroom delivery of guidance, and a catastrophic 58.8% reduction in one-to-one career/educational and personal and social counselling. While there was an overall -23.7% loss of practice hours, analyses further found that guidance counsellors spent 84.1% of those hours time-tabled for classroom teaching of subjects other than guidance; subject teaching (62.6%), S.P.H.E. (23.8%), and Other (13.6%). This equates to 1 in 5 guidance counsellors now performing a full-time teaching role which equates to a removal of approx. 168 guidance counsellors from the guidance counselling service in second level schools and colleges of further education. Impact of Loss by School Type When looked at in terms of which school types lost most for the academic year over actual practice hours , it was evident that Vocational Schools/Community Colleges lost 24.5%, Voluntary Secondary schools 25.5%, Colleges of Further Education 24.0%, Community/Comprehensive schools 22.8%, and Fee-Paying schools 14.1%. 6

7 Breakdown of Practice Hours Guidance counsellors were asked to submit a breakdown of how their allocated hours would be spent. Results of analyses found that 25.6% would be spent on timetabled classroom delivery of guidance, 27.3% on one-to-one counselling, 7.8% on group work, and 39.5% on other work. In terms of overall time-tabled classroom teaching, respondents reported that classroom delivery of guidance represented only 49.4% of the guidance counsellors timetabled teaching, with subject teaching representing 31.8%, SPHE representing 12.0%, and other teaching representing 6.8%. Qualified & Unqualified Staff It has emerged from the audits that not only are all qualified guidance counsellors in schools not practicing guidance counselling, of greater concern is that a substantial number of schools are using unqualified staff to deliver the service. Even more concerning is that external providers of both guidance and counselling are still being recruited and paid by schools. While the number of schools recruiting external guidance only services has reduced substantially in (8) over (44), a quarter of all schools (25.1%) are recruiting external counselling services (55). Of the 339 qualified guidance counsellors employed, only 298 or 87.9% were practicing on a daily basis. At the same time, 23 (10.5%) respondent schools were using 30 unqualified staff (8 guidance counsellors in-training) which represented 8.1% of all those delivering guidance counselling. Unqualified staff are delivering 7.1 mean hours of guidance counselling per week. It should be noted that these unqualified staff are unlikely to have any specialist training in guidance counselling, or may not have access to counselling supervision which is of critical importance. Attendance at Supervision There was clear evidence, however, of the recognition of the benefits and importance of counselling supervision, which is funded by the DES. When qualified practicing guidance counsellors were asked if they were free to attend scheduled counselling supervision on the designated afternoon, 95.8% reported that they were. However, 12.3% reported that they were timetabled; 7.3% for subject-teaching, 2.7% for guidance, and 2.3% of other schoolbased activities, but when this was brought to the attention of the school Principals, they were released to attend. However, 4.1% were not free to attend supervision. 7

8 Use of External Providers of Services In Phase 2 of the national audit for the academic year, 21 schools (8.75%) reported using external providers for the delivery of guidance; while 70 schools (29.2%) reported using seventeen different external providers for Counselling. These figures have reduced in Phase 3 for the academic year where 8 schools (3.6%) report using 6 retired guidance counsellors, for the delivery of guidance, of which 50% where paid; and 55 schools (25.1%) reported using external providers for the delivery of counselling, of which 76.3% were paid, and 49.1% were counsellors. The number of schools using external providers to fill the gap in service provision has dropped in the academic year; guidance by a dramatic -61.9%, and counselling by a further -4.1%. This dramatic drop further exacerbates the loss to students. It is evident that the use of external providers for counselling is ad-hoc in nature, and it appears that schools are placed in the position that they will recruit both paid and voluntary providers, wherever they can be sourced, in order to deliver a counselling service. While it is acknowledged on behalf of the schools that this solution to the now evident gap in the provision of service is with the best intent (practice hours down -23.8%, and one-to one counselling down -58.8%), however, in the absence of an overarching quality system to determine the qualification of service providers, their service standard, and their Garda Clearance levels, the use of this method is high risk for students and needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. Recommendations 1. That the Minister reviews the current guidance counselling provision in schools as indicated by the figure revealed in the audit; and services to students and schools most in need must be prioritised. The uneven and disjointed service provision revealed in the audit demonstrates that the vulnerable and disadvantaged students are hurt most by the cuts. This has major implications for stated Government commitment to reduce social and economic inequality and promote social inclusion. 8

9 2. That the Minister affirms the statutory commitment to the holistic model of delivery. Students having access to educational, vocational and personal counselling reduces any possible stigma associated with meeting the Guidance Counsellor about mental health issues (Guidelines for second level schools on the implications of Section 9(c) of the Education Act, 1998 relating to students access to appropriate guidance, p.4). 3. Ensure access as envisaged under Section 9 (c) of the Education Act, Counselling is a key part of the school guidance program [and] may include personal counselling, educational counselling, career counselling or combinations of these. The effect on students presenting with personal issues is immediate; the effects on educational and career planning is progressive and developmental. 4. That the time lost to Guidance Counsellors, since the cutbacks, for the practice of one-to-one counselling be restored; and that the DES take cognisance of the NCGE 2011 recommendation That the DES maintain and strengthen the guidance counsellors practice of counselling through additional supports such as reducing the ratio of students to guidance counsellor, providing regular supervision and CPD and acknowledging and formally rewarding the additional training. Supervision of counselling practice is a necessity, on a number of counts: for safe, ethical quality counselling practice, and for ensuring the health and safety of students. Counselling supervision is also an essential safeguard against possible legal action being brought against the DES, school management, and practitioners. 5. That the services of in-school qualified Guidance Counsellors be fully utilised to maintain and strengthen guidance counselling practice; and that the DES discontinue the current practice by schools of using external counselling providers for guidance counselling, while relocating those professionally qualified guidance counsellors who are already in situ (in house) into subject teaching. 9

10 6. There needs to be clear agreement on minimum levels of service provision in schools and colleges of further education between the DES, Management Bodies, and the Institute of Guidance Counsellors. We believe that the relevant DES circular needs to be strengthened to address the inequalities in service provision and to ensure that there is equality of access and opportunity for all students. We are concerned about the trend on the part of some schools to source funding from some external sources and query whether this is in conformity with good strategic planning. 10

11 SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION & CONTEXT Phase 3 of the National audit into the practice of guidance counselling in second level schools in Ireland was commissioned by the Institute of Guidance & Counselling (IGC) under the directions of its National Executive Committee, and carried out by LifeCare Psychological Services Limited on their behalf. Here are summarised the aims, background methodology, as well as the main results of the audit. The recommendations arising from the audit are also set out. Aims The audit aimed to explore the structure, scope and changes to the practice of guidance counselling by guidance counsellors in second level schools and colleges of further education from the , and build on results already reported for the and academic years. It identified: 1. The demographic structure of the schools, including school type, enrolment figures, PLC status, and DEIS status; 2. The Department of Education and Skills (DES) allocation of hours by school type and school status, prior to the removal of the ex-quota allocation; 3. Whether hours for guidance counselling were being provided from the general school allocation for the academic year ; 4. Changes to planned service delivery in the academic year as against actual practice in the and academic years; 5. The actual practice hours by school type and school status for and ; 6. The number of guidance counsellors employed; 7. The number of guidance counsellors practicing; 8. The number of external providers of guidance; 9. The number of external providers of counselling; 10. The proportion of time guidance counsellors devote to classroom guidance delivery by student year; 11. The proportion of time guidance counsellors devoted to classroom teaching of nonguidance subjects; 11

12 12. The proportion of time guidance counsellors devoted to counselling by student year, including one-to-one career/educational counselling, and one-to-one personal and social counselling; 13. The types of annual activities undertaken by guidance counsellors; 14. Where these annual activities are undertaken, in school time or personal time; 15. Whether guidance counsellors were free to attend Supervision on the designated afternoon, and reasons for non-release. Context The design of the audit was guided firstly by a policy change by the Government that involved the removal of the ex-quota allocation for guidance counselling granted to second level schools and colleges of further education from the academic year onwards; and secondly, because of the concern of the IGC to the potential serious consequences of this decision for students in these schools. Building on previously reported finding, an important part of this audit was to ascertain additional evidence in quantitative terms about the continuing amount of time loss, the areas of guidance and counselling impacted by school type, and how any loss may have altered how the role of the guidance counsellor was carried out in terms of the numbers of guidance counsellors practicing on a daily basis. Structure of the Report The structure of this report is as follows Methodology Finding & Analysis Phase 3, with comparative analyses against phase 2 and phase 1, as applicable Recommendations arising from the research 12

13 SECTION 2: METHODOLOGY The aim of the audit was to establish as far as possible the extent of the impact of the removal of the ex-quota allocation for guidance counselling. To this end, it was decided to use a quantitative techniques approach and concepts. The audit to-date has been carried out in three phases: 1. A nationwide survey of all guidance counsellors in second level schools and colleges of further education in March 2012 to collect data on actual guidance and counselling practice during the academic year; 2. A nationwide survey of all guidance counsellors in second level schools and colleges of further education in October 2012 to collect data on scheduled guidance and counselling practice for the academic year. 2. A nationwide survey of all guidance counsellors in second level schools and colleges of further education in October 2013 to collect data on scheduled guidance and counselling practice for the academic year. These questionnaires collected information on school type and status, enrolment, number of qualified and practicing guidance counsellors, DES allocation, actual practice hours, classroom delivery of guidance, subject teaching, SPHE, and other teaching by student year, one-to-one career/educational and personal/social counselling, the use of external providers of guidance and counselling, types of annual activities undertaken by guidance counsellors and where they are carried out, and hours lost as a result of the removal of the ex-quota allocation for guidance counselling. 13

14 SECTION 3: FINDINGS & ANALYSIS Respondent Characteristics 745 second level schools were invited to participate in Phase 3 of the IGC National Audit of Guidance Counselling practice. 219 respondent schools (37.9%), representing 298 guidance counsellors, returned completed questionnaires under Phase 3 which reported data on planned GC practice for the academic year, and all returned questionnaires were included. Of these 219 respondent schools, 191 had participated in both Phases 2 & 3 (87.2%), and 168 had participated in Phases 1, 2 & 3 (76.7%), as shown in Table 1.1 below. Unless otherwise stated, these results reflect the finding from the total 219 respondent schools. However, certain questions that require comparative analyses will be identified within the body of this section. Table 1.1: Respondent schools in each Phase of the Audit Category N N % Response No. of 2nd Level Schools invited to participate 745 Total Phase 1 respondents % Total Phase 2 respondents % : - Phase 1 & 2 respondents only % Total Phase 3 respondents % : - Phase 2 & 3 respondents only % : - Phase 1, 2 & 3 respondents only % School Location Full details of the location of the 219 respondent schools are shown in Table 1.2 below. Table 1.2: Respondent schools by Location School Location Category N % Carlow Cavan

15 Clare Cork Donegal Dublin Galway Kerry Kildare Kilkenny Laois 2.9 Leitrim 1.5 Limerick Longford Louth Mayo Meath Monaghan Offaly Roscommon 1.5 Sligo Tipperary Waterford 2.9 Westmeath Wexford Wicklow Total School Type As shown in Tables 1.3 and 1.4, of the 219 respondent schools, voluntary secondary schools represented 46.6%, Vocational Schools/Community Colleges 23.7%, Community/ Comprehensive Schools 16.4%, Fee Paying Schools 5.5%, and Colleges of Further Education 5.0%. In addition, 23.3% were PLC, while 24.2% held DEIS status. 15

16 Table 1.3: Schools by School Type School by Type Category N % Voluntary Secondary School Vocational School/Community College Community/Comprehensive School Fee-Paying Secondary School College of Further Education Youthreach 1.5 VTOS/Second Chance 1.5 Voluntary Secondary School + CFE 2.8 Vocational School/Community College + CFE 1.5 Community/Comprehensive School + CFE 1.5 Total Table 1.4: Respondent schools with PLC & DEIS Status PLC STATUS DEIS STATUS Category N % N % Yes No No Response Total Allocation of hours for Guidance Counselling: All 219 respondent schools reported their individual schools were providing hours for guidance counselling from the general school allocation, with a weekly mean hour allocation of 18.7, as shown in table 1.5 below. 16

17 Table 1.5: Schools Providing GC Services Schools Providing GC Services Category N % Total Hours Mean Score S.D. Yes Total Breakdown of Allocated Hours: In addition to submitting details of their total guidance counselling hours allocation, schools were asked to provide an estimated breakdown of how these hours would be spent. All 219 respondent schools provided data, as shown in Table 1.6 below. Classroom delivery of guidance would account for 25.6%, with a weekly mean hour allocation of 4.7; one-to-one student work 27.3%, with a weekly mean hour allocation of 5.1; group work 7.8%, with a weekly mean hour allocation of 1.4; and other (including administration) work 39.5%, with a weekly mean hour allocation of 7.3. While the majority of respondents were specific about the total GC hours and, to a slightly lesser extent, the portion allocated to classroom delivery, they were much less specific about how the balance would be utilised. Table 1.6: Breakdown of Weekly GC Allocated Hours Estimated Breakdown Of Weekly GC Allocation Total GC Hours Classroom Delivery 1:1 Student Work Group Work Other Work Total Hours Mean Scores Std. Deviation % Breakdown 100% 25.6% 27.3% 7.8% 39.5% Total N

18 When the total guidance counselling allocated weekly mean hours of the respondent schools who submitted Phase 2 & 3 data (n=191) is compared with Phase 1, a decrease of -2.9% was found for the academic year. The overall reduction of total guidance counselling allocated weekly mean hours over the two academic periods amounts to -23.7%. Time-tabled classroom weekly mean hours for the same period increase by 12.8%, while counselling weekly mean hours decreased by %, as shown in Table 1.7 below. Table 1:7: Comparison of GC Hours Comparison of GC Mean Weekly Hours: Category N Actual Total GC Practice Hours Total Time-Tabled Classroom GC Hours Total Counselling Hours Total Group Work Hours Total Other/Admin Hours Scheduled % +/- Scheduled % +/- %+/ / (21.4%) (2.9%) (23.7%) % (5.9%) +12.8% (51.4%) (15.2%) (58.8%) % % +36.1% % % +4.3% In order to establish if there was significant difference between the total practice hours reported by all Phase 3 respondent (n=219) for each of the two academic years, and , over actual practice hours , paired samples t-tests were undertaken. Results of the t-tests have indicated that statistically significant fewer hours were allocated to guidance counselling for both the academic year [t(218)=11.71,p=.000] and the academic year [t(218)=11.28,p=.000]. These finding are mirrored in the National Centre for Guidance in Education s (NCGE) 2013 Review of Guidance Counselling in second level schools , which was carried out on behalf of the Department of Education and Skills (DES) and the NCGE Management of Guidance Committee. For the academic year, the NCGE research reported a statistically significant decrease [t(117)=11.6,p=.000], with a mean hour allocated decrease from 24 ( ) to 17. As a result of their findings, the NGCE recommended that the ex-quota allocation for guidance in schools should be restored as a priority. 18

19 Impact of Loss in Allocation by School Type When the data from the respondent schools (n=219) to ascertain what schools were impacts, results found that all school types were impacted when comparative analysis was undertaken from the academic year over actual practice hours Table 1.8 below shows that Vocational Schools/Community Colleges lost 24.5%, Voluntary Secondary schools 25.5%, Colleges of Further Education 24.0%, Community/Comprehensive schools 22.8%, and Fee-Paying schools 14.1%. Table 1:8: Impact of Loss in Allocation by School Type Category Impact of Practice Hours Lost by School Type to N Weekly Mean Hours Weekly Mean Hours Weekly Mean Hours %+/ over Voluntary Secondary School % Vocational School/Community College % Community/Comprehensive School % Fee-Paying Secondary School % College of Further Education % Youthreach % VTOS/Second Chance % Voluntary Secondary School + CFE % Vocational School/Community College + CFE % Community/Comprehensive School + CFE % Total

20 Breakdown of All Time-Tabled Classroom Hours Schools were asked to provide a breakdown of the number of hours per week time-tabled to be spent in the classroom. Analyses were undertaken and found that guidance counselling time-tabled hours only represented 49.4% of total time-tabled classroom hours for guidance counsellors, which equated to 4.7 mean hours per week. Guidance counsellors were spending an additional 3.0 mean hours subject teaching; 1.1 mean hours teaching SPHE; and 0.6 mean hours on other classroom related teaching, as shown in table 1.9 below. Table 1.9: Breakdown of Weekly Time-Tabled Classroom Hours Breakdown of Weekly Time-Tabled Classroom Hours Total Hours GC SUBJECT SPHE OTHER Total. Hours Mean Scores Std. Deviation % Breakdown 100% 49.4% 31.8% 12.0% 6.8% Total N Further analyses were undertaken to determine if there was a shift in the pattern of timetabled classroom teaching between the and academic years. Results found that classroom guidance decreased by -5.9%, while subject teaching increased by 14.5%, as shown in table 1.10 below. Table 1:10: Breakdown of Time-Tabled Classroom Hours: & Category N Scheduled Scheduled % +/- % non GC Teaching Total Time-Tabled Hours % 100% Total Time-Tabled Guidance Counselling Total Time-Tabled Subject Teaching Total Time-Tabled S.P.H.E Total Time-Tabled Other (5.9%) % 62.6% (1.1%) 23.8% % 13.6%

21 The 219 respondent schools reported a breakdown of their weekly time-tabled classroom hours by student year and these are shown in tables 1.11 below. For classroom Guidance, 71.8% of the total classroom guidance hours are time-tabled for Years 4, 5 & 6, with only 9.69% timetabled for Years 1,2 & 3. While subject teaching appears to be spread across the board, 76.2% of classroom S.P.H.E. and 64.3% of Other classroom teaching is delivered to Junior Cycle, and Junior Cycle plus Transition year, respectively. Table 1.11: Breakdown of Weekly Time-Tabled Classes by Student Year (excluding Modular) Guidance Total Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 5 LCA1 Year 5 LCVP Mean Hours Std. Deviation n= % 2.99% 1.76% 4.94% 22.79% 21.01% 4.99% 4.47% 28.03% 4.04% 4.17% 0.82% Subject Teaching Total Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Mean Hours Std. Deviation n= % 13.89% 15.16% 11.53% 10.15% 10.82% 2.70% 5.27% 13.07% 2.92% 3.49% 11.00% Year 5 LCA1 Year 5 LCVP LCA2 LCA2 LCVP LCVP PLC PLC S.P.H.E Total Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Mean Hours Std. Deviation n= % 32.47% 20.77% 22.93% 9.27% 4.66% 1.13% 3.04% 3.86% 1.13% 0.53% 0.21% Other Total Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Mean Hours Std. Deviation n= % 20.1% 16.8% 8.9% 18.5% 8.2% 4.7% 8.0% 9.2% 1.4% 2.4% 1.9% Year 5 LCA1 Year 5 LCA1 Year 5 LCVP Year 5 LCVP LCA2 LCA2 LCVP LCVP PLC PLC 21

22 Breakdown of Qualified Practicing & Non-Practicing Guidance Counsellors The 219 respondent schools reported employing 339 qualified guidance counselling staff, of which 298 (87.9%) were practicing during the academic year, as per table 1.12 below. Table 1.12: Qualified Guidance & Counselling Staff Qualified GC Staff in Schools Category N Total Mean Score S.D. All Qualified Qualified & Practicing Qualified & Non-Practicing 41. % Qualified & Non-Practicing 12.1% While 41 qualified guidance counsellors in the respondent schools (n=219) were nonpracticing, at the same time these schools further reported that an additional 30 unqualified staff were practicing as guidance counsellors during the academic year, representing 8.1% of all practicing staff, and with a weekly mean hour allocation of 7.1, as per table 1.13 below. Eight (16.3%) of these unqualified staff are guidance counsellors in-training. Table 1.13: Unqualified Staff Providing Guidance Counselling Unqualified Staff Providing Guidance Counselling Category N Total Weekly Mean Hours S.D. All Qualified Practicing and Unqualified % Unqualified & Practicing 8.13%.

23 In order to compare the numbers of qualified practicing and qualified non-practicing guidance counsellors across the three academic years, comparative analyses were undertaken from matched respondents (n=168) who submitted data to each phase of the audit; phase 1, phase 2 and phase 3. Table 1.14 shows that when the academic year was compared with , there was a - 5.3% reduction in the number of qualified guidance counsellors practicing, and a -16.4% reduction in the number of qualified guidance counsellors not practicing, over the same period. In order to determine if the reduction in the number of qualified guidance counsellors delivering guidance on a daily basis across the three academic periods was significant, paired samples t-tests were undertaken. The results of the analyses found that there were statistically significant decreases when both the and academic years were compared [t(167)=4.572,p=.000] and when the and academic years were compared [t(167)=3.380, p=.001]. Table 1.14: Qualified Practicing & Non-Practicing Guidance Counsellors. Qualified in Schools Guidance Counsellors - Practicing & Non-Practicing To Qualified & Practicing Qualified in Schools Qualified & Practicing Qualified in Schools Qualified & Practicing over Total Non- Practicing Total Mean Std. Deviation n= % -6.07% 100.0% % 100.0% % % 23

24 Use of External Providers of Guidance Counselling As shown in table 1.15 below, in addition to the above, 8 (3.6%) of respondent schools (n=219) reported that they were using the services of external individuals to deliver guidance, 6 of whom were retired guidance counsellors, of which 4 were paid. Fifty five (25.1%) schools reported they were to using the services of external individuals to deliver counselling, 33 of whom were counsellors, with 42 (76.4%) of the 55 paid. In order to determine if there was a decrease in the number of external providers of guidance counselling services since the removal of the ex-quota allocation, comparative analyses was undertaken from matched respondents (n=191) who submitted data to both phase 2 and phase 3 of the audit. Results found that when the academic year was compared with , there was a -62.5% reduction for those providing external guidance services (down from 16 schools to 6), and a -15.5% reduction for those providing external counselling services (down from 58 schools to 49).. Table 1.15: External Providers of Guidance Counselling Category N % of Schools Mean Hours S.D. Guidance 8 3.6% Counselling % n-219 Free to Attend Supervision/CPD on Designated Afternoon Of the Phase 3 respondent schools (n=219), 9 (4.1%) reported that they were not free to attend Supervision, which is down from 18.8% on the academic year. At the same time, 27 (12.3%) reported that they were time-tabled for the period (16 for subject teaching; 6 for guidance; and 5 for other school-based activities) but were when it was brought to the attention of the Principal. Details are shown in tables 1.16 and 1.17 below. 24

25 Table 1.16: Analysis of GC s Free to Attend Supervision/CPD GC's Free to Attend Supervision/CPD Category N % Yes % No 6 4.1% Total Table 1.17.: Analysis of Reasons for GC s Non-Release Breakdown of Time-Tabled Activities Category N % Subject Teaching Guidance School-based Activities n=

26 SECTION 4: RECOMMENDATIONS 1. That the Minister reviews the current guidance counselling provision in schools as indicated by the figure revealed in the audit; and services to students and schools most in need must be prioritised. The uneven and disjointed service provision revealed in the audit demonstrates that the vulnerable and disadvantaged students are hurt most by the cuts. This has major implications for stated Government commitment to reduce social and economic inequality and promote social inclusion. 2. That the Minister affirms the statutory commitment to the holistic model of delivery. Students having access to educational, vocational and personal counselling reduces any possible stigma associated with meeting the Guidance Counsellor about mental health issues (c.f Guidelines for second level schools on the implications of Section 9(c) of the Education Act, 1998 relating to students access to appropriate guidance, p.4). 3. Ensure access as envisaged under Section 9 (c) of the Education Act, Counselling is a key part of the school guidance program [and] may include personal counselling, educational counselling, career counselling or combinations of these. The effect on students presenting with personal issues is immediate; the effects on educational and career planning is progressive and developmental. 4. That the time lost to Guidance Counsellors, since the cutbacks, for the practice of one-to-one counselling be restored; and that the DES take cognisance of the NCGE 2011 recommendation That the DES maintain and strengthen the guidance counsellors practice of counselling through additional supports such as reducing the ratio of students to guidance counsellor, providing regular supervision and CPD and acknowledging and formally rewarding the additional training. 26

27 Supervision of counselling practice is a necessity, on a number of counts: for safe, ethical quality counselling practice, and for ensuring the health and safety of students. Counselling supervision is also an essential safeguard against possible legal action being brought against the DES, school management, and practitioners. 5. That the services of in-school qualified Guidance Counsellors be fully utilised to maintain and strengthen guidance counselling practice; and that the DES discontinue the current practice by schools of using external counselling providers for guidance counselling, while relocating those professionally qualified guidance counsellors who are already in situ (in house) into subject teaching. 6. There needs to be clear agreement on minimum levels of service provision in schools and colleges of further education between the DES, Management Bodies, and the Institute of Guidance Counsellors. We believe that the relevant DES circular needs to be strengthened to address the inequalities in service provision and to ensure that there is equality of access and opportunity for all students. We are concerned about the trend on the part of some schools to source funding from some external sources and query whether this is in conformity with good strategic planning. 27