THE FIRST PRACTICAL guide to the role of the guidance counsellor in the Irish school system to be written by the practitioners themselves was launched in Dublin last night. The document, produced by the Institute of Guidance Counsellors, was described by the institute's president, Father John Dunne, as a "resource" and "a menu for excellence".
Entitled Guidance and Counselling Service in Second Level Schools and the Role of the Guidance Counsellor, it is for "all those interested in the guidance and counselling process, but more particularly for management, staff and parents of schools, whose prime interest is the nurturing and welfare of young people". It also represents guidance counsellors' contribution towards the Department of Education's requirement of a "whole-school plan".
"For the first time we now have a document written by practitioners themselves, which demonstrates the breath, diversity and inherent professionalism of their role," Dunne said.
Speaking at the launch, he stressed the need for a ratio of one guidance counsellor to 250 pupils and an even better ratio for schools with disadvantage. "Every school now has an allocation for guidance and counselling, but there are many schools where that allocation is not given to guidance and counselling and where professionally trained guidance counsellors are denied proper time to carry out their service to the young people in the school's care.
