Competence goal 8 a (Guidance and Special Pedagogy)

 Competence goal: Student welfare Services and Student Well-being.

By: Abeeda Khan

Student welfare encompasses services that promote the physical , mental, and social well-being of pupils and students. The services advance the balanced growth and development of the young, foster a culture of caring and positive interaction in the school community, and ensure equal learning opportunities for all.

Guidance and counselling are of key importance from the viewpoint of the pupils, school, and society alike. The guidance forms a continuum that extends throughout the pupil’s years in basic education to subsequent studies.

Every pupil is entitled to guidance during school days. Guidance and counselling promote

  • the successful completion of schoolwork
  • the progress of the studies
  • the productivity and effectiveness of education.

A key task of guidance and counselling is to support students’ growth and development in a way that enables them to promote their social maturity and capacity to study and to develop knowledge and skills required in life planning.

Furthermore, guidance and counselling connect the school to society and the working life. Guidance and counselling promote fairness, equity, equality and participation, and prevent exclusion from education and working life. 

If necessary, all pupils receive advice and guidance personally or in small groups in addition to the lessons reserved for guidance and counselling. Furthermore, pupils are guided in the use of different information seeking tools and the guidance and counselling services provided by society.

Special support: 

Pupils who require special support in basic education receive more individual guidance for moving to further studies than other pupils. When guiding pupils, the guidance counsellor works in cooperation with experts from different fields.

Guidance plan:

Each school draws up a guidance plan governing the guidance activities. The plan describes

  • the structures for the provision of guidance counselling
  • the operating methods
  • the division of work and responsibilities
  • the multidisciplinary networks required to achieve the objectives of the guidance
  • the cooperation between home and school in guidance counselling, the school’s cooperation with working life and the arrangements for pupils' introduction to working life.

The guidance plan is drawn up in cooperation with students, guardians and stakeholders and the realization of its objectives is assessed on a regular basis.

Furthermore, Pupil and student welfare is primarily preventive student welfare that supports the school community as a whole. In the school community, this means an institutional culture that includes collaborative activities and cooperation between the school and home as well as measures that promote safety.

Similarly, Students are also entitled to individualized student welfare, which aims to help the student learn, be healthy, experience wellbeing and a sense of inclusion and to prevent problems from arising. The purpose is also to ensure that high-quality student welfare services are available and that students have access to early support.

Student welfare is implemented and managed as one operational entity and as systematic multi-professional cooperation between teaching staff, health and social services, students and their parents and guardians as well as any other actors deemed necessary.

Education providers are responsible for ensuring that student welfare is provided as specified in the curriculum. It must be a collaborative effort between different actors in such a way that it forms a functional and systematic entity. The education providers must supply information to the students and their parents and guardians on student welfare and, when necessary, guide students to seek help from student welfare services.

In addition, the wishes and opinions of students must be taken into consideration when adopting any measures and decisions involving them, bearing in mind the student's age, level of development and other personal capabilities. 

The wellbeing services countie in which the school is located is responsible for organizing the services of a psychologist and school social worker in their area, regardless of the municipality the student resides in. Students who are minors are entitled to receive, free of charge, such student welfare services as are deemed necessary for being able to attend instruction and education.

Decisions on cooperation between the home and school, the key principles for student welfare, and the objectives for student welfare related to education are made within the scope of the national core curriculum (or other provisions in the Basic Education Act or in the Act on General Upper Secondary Education).

The education providers evaluate the implementation and impact of student welfare and carry out in-house supervision of overall student welfare in cooperation with the authorities in municipal education administration and wellbeing services counties.

To conclude, Individual student welfare services are provided by psychologists, school social workers, public health nurses, doctors and nurses specialized in mental health and substance abuse work. 

Schools also have many other professionals to support the students. The purpose of the services is to enable good learning for every learner.

Students can seek out most of these services themselves, but the student welfare staff are also always ready to guide and advise students in determining the right place to find support.


References

  • https://www.hel.fi/en/childhood-and-education/general-upper-secondary-education/support-for-learning-and-wellbeing/student-welfare-services
  • https://okm.fi/en/pupil-and-student-welfare
  • https://www.luvn.fi/en/services/family-centre/student-and-pupil-welfare
  • https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01443410.2023.2282947
  • https://www.oph.fi/en/education-and-qualifications/guidance-and-counselling-basic-education

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