Considerations when Allocating Counsellors to Schools
Ministry of EducationSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the criteria for school counsellor allocation and the identification of unmet student mental health needs, as raised by Mr Kenneth Tiong Boon Kiat. Minister Desmond Lee clarified that educator well-being is managed through separate programmes and does not impact counsellor allocation. Schools monitor student well-being through termly check-ins and referrals to identify needs independently of existing counsellor access levels. To manage demand, schools can engage flexi-adjunct counsellors and utilize community resources like REACH, CHAT, and national helplines. Students also learn how to access these support avenues through the Character and Citizenship curriculum.
Transcript
88 Mr Kenneth Tiong Boon Kiat asked the Minister for Education (a) given counsellor allocation relies on reported caseloads, how does the Ministry distinguish genuinely low need from demand suppressed by limited counsellor access; (b) what prospective metrics identify unmet need; and (c) are educators' own mental health needs incorporated in the allocation.
Mr Desmond Lee: The caseloads refer to students engaged by the school counsellors. The mental well-being of school personnel is supported through dedicated programmes separate from school counselling services and hence does not affect school counsellor allocation.
Schools use a number of indicators to assess the counselling needs of students. Besides referrals from students and teachers, they also monitor their students' social-emotional and mental well-being through termly check-ins to identify those requiring support. These indicators are not dependent on the extent of access to school counsellors.
When schools detect increased counselling needs, they can augment their counselling capacity by engaging additional flexi-adjunct school counsellors. Beyond schools, the Ministry of Education also taps on whole-of-Government efforts to support youth mental health, with students having access to community resources such as Response, Early intervention and Assessment in Community mental Health teams, in-person services like CHAT - Centre of Excellence for Youth Mental Health, CREST-Youth and community helplines such as the national mindline 1771, Samaritans of Singapore and Tinkle Friend. As part of the Character and Citizenship curriculum, students learn about these avenues of support for their mental well-being.