Should primary and intermediate schools have registered school guidance counsellors for students

to easily access on school grounds? Registered and qualified school counsellors are strongly needed
in primary and intermediate schools. Inadequate guidance and support for children’s mental health
by registered counsellors in primary and intermediate schools can be detrimental student’s
academic achievement. The New Zealand Association of Counsellors states that there are at least 33
registered counsellors working in primaries and 22 working in intermediates throughout New
Zealand (Education Central, 2018). Therefore, the majority of primary and intermediate schools do
not provide their students with a school counsellor on site. Majority of secondary schools have one
or more registered counsellors that work full-time on site (Jo Moir Education, 2013). With the
growing mental health disorders in New Zealand’s young people, having support and guidance at an
earlier stage before they reach high school would benefit them immensely in many areas of their
lives.

The large need for registered and qualified counsellors in primaries and intermediates is an issue
that is only recently come into light in New Zealand. This is because it is only just beginning to
become clear that mental health issues are now prevalent in children aged between five and
fourteen. Thus, there is little research and literature on this issue that relates specifically to New
Zealand for primaries and intermediates. There is, however, literature and research on the mental
health issues and the consequences these issues have on secondary school students. Therefore,
secondary schools have the allocated funding for school counsellors. I believe that from the research
and literature that links secondary students with mental health issues and their low academic
achievement can be a clear indicator on the compelling need for school counsellors in primaries and
intermediates. This is because in a lot of the cases with secondary students, the issues have become
prominent in their lives due to problems not being noticed or resolved in their childhood. Due to the
lack of literature on mental health issues and the effects on academic achievement for students in
primary and intermediate schools, I will analyse the effects for secondary students and link these to
primary and intermediate school students.

The statistics of youth mental health are astonishingly high. Youth suicide rates are among the
highest in the world, among 32 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
countries, New Zealand, in 2012, had the highest rate of suicide for males aged fifteen to nineteen
and the fourth highest rate for females aged fifteen to nineteen (Best Practice Advocacy Centre New
Zealand, 2015). The Youth ’12 report (2012) states that 21% of female secondary students and 10%
of male students had seriously thought about suicide in the previous 12 months and during the same
time period, 2% of male students and 6% of female students had attempted suicide. 16% of female
students and 9% of male students showed clinically significant symptoms of depression and 38% of
female and 23% of male students reported that for at least two weeks, they felt down or depressed
for most of the day. These statistics are just a glance into the serious issue of youth mental health in
New Zealand. There are also other mental health issues aside from anxiety and depression that
correlate with academic performance such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD),
various behavioural issues, social issues and familial issues.

McLeod, Uemura and Rohrman (2012) states that youth with mental health issues are more likely to
have lower performance in school and acquire lower levels of education compared to youth that are
not experiencing mental health problems. There are various reasons as to why and how mental
health issues in students can cause an adverse effect on their academic achievement. Each student is
different and so the effects from mental health issues vary between different students. Secondary
students that suffer from mental health issues are likely to have issues with lower attendance,
difficulty in concentrating, lack of interest and a lack of motivation, internalised distress and
externalised distress as well as many other issues that come from having a mental health issue.
Internalised distress is the negative emotions of anxiety, shame, guilt and sadness that students
direct towards themselves. Children who have stated that they have these feelings frequently show
decreasing levels of academic functioning. The feelings of loneliness, hopelessness and sadness are
correlated with lower achievement on tests, grades rated by the teacher and avoidance in the
classroom. Externalised distress which is the negative emotions of anger, frustration and fear that
are directed at others, is strongly associated with difficulties in school which includes learning
delays, low achievement, aggressive behaviour, misconduct and social rejection (Roeser, Eccles &
Strobel, 1998). Secondary students that suffer from mental health issues are more likely to have a
lower attendance, this can be due to the many emotions that are a result of mental health issues
such as anxiety and depression. Students may feel too anxious about having to go into social
situations with peers and teachers and in turn end up withdrawing. Some students feel as though
they cannot explain to others about how they are feeling because they feel that others will not
understand, treat them differently or judge them. They struggle to concentrate on their school work
and would rather stay away from school than having to deal with teachers getting frustrated that
they are not achieving or not being able to concentrate on the task at hand. Students with
depression symptoms often report that they have extreme difficulties concentrating in class and
completing homework, they are more likely to have low academic achievement and a decreased
ability to complete school work and attend class. Students with anxiety disorders are more likely to
fail assessments, achieve a low score in assessments or even not complete secondary school. Youth
that have attempted suicide are also seen to have lower levels of academic achievement (Mcleod et
al, 2012; TeenScreen, n.d.). These are just a few examples of the correlation between mental health
and academic achievement, there is still a large amount of mental health issues that cause students
to have lower academic performance in school.

The issues discussed above are related to secondary students, however, primary and intermediate
aged children also suffer from these mental health issues. The levels of mental health issues in
children in primary and intermediate schools in increasing dramatically (Yeoman, 2017). Education
Central (2018) explains that there is a crisis of anxiety in primary and intermediates schools, and
states that in New Zealand, there is a distressing increase in the rates of suicides among students
aged twelve to 24 years olds and a significant spike in the number of children that suffer from a
mental health issue or issues. There are also other issues that cause academic problems for primary
and intermediate students such as abuse, trauma, grief and loss, abuse, bereavement, divorce and
separation (Education Central, 2018). All these issues can play a huge impact on how these young
students cope, how well they can concentrate in school and then how well they are able to achieve.

Jo Moir Education (2013) discusses that principals have stated that teachers are not equipped or
qualified to deal with students varying mental health issues. Having a trained counsellor on site daily
in primaries and intermediates, like it is in secondary schools, would improve student’s self-worth
and be extremely beneficial for the students. This article also states that there was proof that having
easily accessible counselling services at secondary schools has helped keep students at school and
with early intervention, this would greatly improve. Addressing mental health issues when they first
develop in primary and intermediate school will stop them reaching crisis level when the student
attends secondary school (Education Central, 2017). Education Central (2018) informs that those
who see depression, anxiety and self-harm in New Zealand’s Year 1 to 8 students on a regular basis
say that it is a matter of urgency to have school counsellors placed in primary and intermediate
schools, so they can begin to combat the mental health issues before the develop more. School
counsellors are expertly trained and equipped to help students deal with and resolve the various
social, emotional and behavioural problems that students face. These counselling programmes are
significantly important and crucial element in improving student achievement (McLeod et al, 2012).
Students who receive social-emotional support are more likely to have a better academic
performance.

My perspective on this issue is that there is a vital importance to have school counsellors in
primaries and intermediates. I have completed a Bachelor of Applied Counselling and completed two
years of practicums in primary schools. Throughout my time as a school counsellor in primary
schools, I noticed the prevalence of mental health issues in students as young as five years old.
Various students were suffering from issues related to ADHD, bereavement, grief and loss, dealing
with the separation and/or the divorce of their parents, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, self-
harm, social issues, emotional abuse, physical abuse, mental abuse as well as witnessing parents
attempt and complete suicide and having parents facing jail time. I was able to first hand witness the
effects these mental health issues had on student’s academic performance and achievement.
Majority of the students were reported to have been struggling with their school work and thus
having a decrease in their academic achievement. Following from the students having the access to
a school counsellor on site, teachers reported that their academic achievement begun to increase. I
can only imagine how these issues left undealt with would affect them later on in life, through
secondary school and into their adulthood. Speaking with my peers that completed their practicums
in secondary schools were only able to corroborate my imagination. They stated that over half of the
students they worked with had mental health issues that stemmed from their childhood and that if
these issues had of been dealt with when they began, they would not be as detrimental to them
now in terms of their academic abilities and achievement. It was during my first year of practicum
that I made the decision to go into teaching in primary and intermediate schools because I had a
strong urge to help these young students. Being able to work solely as a school counsellor in primary
and intermediate schools would have been the ideal approach but due to the lack of funding for
primaries and intermediates to hire school counsellors, this was not possible.

A varying perspective on this issue of providing school counsellors in primary and intermediate
schools is that of a governmental and Ministry of Education funding perspective. In New Zealand,
children under the age of thirteen are eligible for free doctors’ visits and prescriptions (Ryall, 2014).
This means that the parents of children that attend primary and intermediate schools are able to
take their child to the doctors for issues relating to their child’s mental health without being
charged. Whereas, students in secondary school, are not eligible for free doctors visits so having
school counsellors on site at their secondary schools enable them to have free and easily accessible
help from a qualified professional to help them with their mental health issues. This could be a main
cause for the lack of funding in primary and intermediate schools and why they allocated funding for
guidance is only for secondary schools and composite schools (Ministry of Education, 2018).

Another reason for not having school counsellors in primaries and intermediates could be due to the
fact that they parents may consider their child too young to be able to give consent to seeking
advice and help from a school counsellor. Although, there is no particular age at which children can
give informed consent, it is focused instead on the competence of the child or young person to be
able to understand what they are agreeing to (Ministry of Education, n.d.). Primary and intermediate
schools may still feel obliged to seek permission from the parents because they may feel that the
child is incompetent to comprehend what they are agreeing to and then parents may decide against
it due to various reasons such as religion, feelings of guilt or shame as well as many more. Whereas,
in secondary school, students are able to choose at their own free will to seek help from a school
counsellor without the need to gain permission from parents.
In conclusion, I find that it is validated to state that there is a strong and vital need for registered and
qualified school counsellors in primary and intermediate schools. The lack of support for students in
primaries and intermediates dealing with the various mental health issues they face can be
destructive to student’s academic achievement. Although there is a lack of literature and research
into the developing mental health issues in primary and intermediate aged children, it is clear from
the high rates of mental health issues in secondary students and through the perspectives of
education experts, principals and teachers that these issues are becoming increasingly common in
children aged five to fourteen. Therefore, I believe that it is justifiable to state that there is a strong
correlation between the mental health of children aged five to fourteen and their low academic
achievement. Even though children at this age are eligible for free doctors’ visits, I believe that it is
not enough as this requires relying on parents to notice mental health issues and actively take them
to see a general practitioner. Thus, allocating school counsellors in primaries and intermediates is
needed to better support these students so their academic achievement does not suffer now or in
their future.
References

Best Practice Advocacy Centre New Zealand. (2015). Addressing mental health and wellbeing in
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Overview: The health and wellbeing of New Zealand secondary school students in 2012.
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Education Centre. (2017). Putting counsellors in primary schools ‘best thing government has done’.
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Education Centre. (2018). “If we wait until high school, it’s too late” – The urgent need for
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