5.3.14 Guidance

5.3.14 Guidance

Guidance in post-primary schools is a whole-school activity that is integrated into all Junior and Senior Cycle programmes. It encompasses three separate, but interlinked, areas: personal and social development, educational guidance and career guidance. Guidance is provided to students through a variety of approaches including taught modules, weekly lessons, one-to-one and small group guidance counselling sessions, complemented by planned co-curricular activities.

Since 2016, there has been a significant increase in whole-school provision of personal development programmes such as the FRIENDS Resilience programmes and other evidence based anxiety prevention and resilience building programmes for students. Comprehensive induction programmes to support primary pupils in their transition to post-primary have been introduced in almost all schools. In 2020, the Department of Education National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) developed a comprehensive suite of advice and wellbeing resources for parents, students and school staff to support them during COVID-19.93

93 The resources developed by NEPS are available at https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/52642-supporting-the-wellbeing-ofschool-communities-as-schools-reopen-guidance-for-schools/#resources-and-support-for-school-communities

Learning in guidance lessons was of high quality; assessment practices varied

In subject inspections of Guidance, the overall quality of teaching during guidance lessons was found to be good or very good in 92% of schools inspected. The overall quality of learning was found to be good or very good in 90% of schools inspected. High-quality questioning strategies supported high levels of student engagement in lessons, and students were well informed about how to research and evaluate potential education and career options and pathways. Students were positive about the value of guidance lessons.

The quality of assessment of learning in Guidance was more varied, ranging from satisfactory in 15% of schools to good in 64%, to very good in 12%. It was found that, while students at Senior Cycle submitted a small number of valuable guidance-related assignments, assessment of learning in Guidance at Junior Cycle was not as well developed. To improve assessment practices, inspectors recommended more innovative and creative methods of assessing students’ learning and progress in Guidance. Notwithstanding that students’ experience in guidance lessons was found to be generally positive, inspectors recommended the incorporation of more collaborative activities for students during lessons.

Whole-school support for Guidance was of high quality, but the majority of schools had yet to formally establish a whole-school guidance planning team

Inspectors indicated that, in most schools, whole-school support for guidance was of high quality. Effective practice in this regard included the adoption of a continuum of support model for all, some, and a few students. This well-integrated, collaborative, whole-school approach to supporting students involved a wide range of staff with specific roles and functions. Inspectors also noted that timetabled provision of guidance lessons and/or modules was generally working well with more structured and effective provision planned for at Senior Cycle. Since 2016, it was evident that increasing numbers of schools had introduced innovative modular guidance programmes at Junior Cycle under the umbrella of Wellbeing. While students in guidance groups had regular access to digital technology, the availability of devices remained an issue in a small number of schools. Other good practice in relation to whole-school provision included the establishment of very effective student support teams which facilitated an appropriate focus on student welfare and clear referral pathways, both internal and external. However, in relation to whole-school Guidance planning, inspectors noted that the majority of schools had not yet established a whole-school guidance planning team.

Challenges remain in provision for Guidance

Since 2016, the role of the guidance counsellor has become more complex, with increased pressure on guidance counsellors to deliver a comprehensive, holistic guidance support to students. School leaders and guidance counsellors reported increasingly high levels of anxiety among post-primary students. This has strained the capacity of the limited personal counselling service available in schools. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and recognising the particular importance of support for students in the COVID context, approximately 120 additional posts were provided for guidance to support student wellbeing in post-primary schools.

Other areas in which school leaders experienced difficulty include the recruitment of qualified guidance counsellors, due to the Department’s requirement for dual professional qualifications, that of qualified post-primary teacher and post-primary guidance counsellor. Another challenge for some schools was finding effective ways of incorporating Guidance, as an area of learning, into Junior Cycle Wellbeing.