Sycamore School service

About our service

At Sycamore we have an established and growing school counselling service, and we are working in over 48 primary and secondary schools across mid Essex. We provide schools with in-house counsellors. The continuing award of service delivery contracts throughout the year, reflects Sycamore Counselling as a well established and recognised provider of high quality counselling services to statutory providers, local school delivery groups, and independent schools. Schools choose to work with Sycamore and WHCM because we are a BACP accredited organisation.

We offer flexibility, counselling work is carried out through varied therapeutic approaches using the BACP ethical framework regarding confidentiality, (BACP procedure for working in schools Good Practice Guidance of Counselling in Schools, 2006) our child protection framework, as well as SET Child Protection guidelines. Our work is monitored and evaluated at completion, we use the internationally recognised Strength and Difficulty Questionnaires.

Sycamore’s reputation and grounding with key statutory stakeholders such as Essex County Council, has resulted in the following contract wins over the past two years;

• Partnership between WHCM Sycamore and Essex County Council. The Braintree and Witham schools projects have resulted in the provision of counsellors to over 70 schools in and around the Braintree, Halstead and Witham areas.
• WHCM Sycamore recently secured a contract to support emotional well being across 7 senior schools in the Chelmsford area.
• Working with the South Chelmsford local delivery groups to provide counselling for primary schools in the Chelmsford area. 

 How counselling can help children and schools

Children can often need additional emotional support alongside the pastoral care of the teachers. Providing school counsellors can help provide a child with the necessary support at a difficult time and also support the teachers, who may not have the time and specialist skills to deal with often complex and sensitive issues. In addition when children are exhibiting threatening or anti social behaviour this can have a negative impact on other children in the classroom. Counselling can assist a child’s understanding and help process fears and anxieties, which in turn releases their potential to learn and concentrate in the classroom.

The outcome of evaluation (SDQ scores) of our work suggests; that conduct problems considered abnormal at the beginning of counselling show normal at the end of a contract. Counselling can change anti-social responses to more socially acceptable responses. Children report a lessening of emotional distress. Their peer relationship difficulties change for the better and they are better able to develop their communications skills.

What you can expect from our school counselling service

Our service is bespoke to the needs of the child and their development. In comparison to Adult counselling, a range of techniques such as art work and drawing can be used to facilitate the communication and depending on development.

We provide a highly professional service and all counsellors work within BACP ethical framework. Typically we offer between 8 sessions and an open ended number of sessions to a child. You can expect that we will also evaluate and monitor the work we deliver, and provide structured feedback at the end of the intervention. We have worked successfully with children and a range of issues including;

• Attachment and relationship problems
• Confidence and self esteem
• Loss and bereavement
• Bullying
• Self harm and eating disorders

How to find out more about our service or to make a referral

If you are a parent seeking to find out how your child can benefit from counselling or how your school can run this service, please contact Justine Colley on 01245 359353 or 07805 228 551 who can provide you with more information.

Our staff will conduct a full assessment of the child and young person. In some instances we will support a referral to specialist services.