Counselling Services At Forge

I am aware that school can be a stressful and triggering time for our students, this is why it is our aim as an Academy to provide extra emotional support to students.

Dear parents and carers,

I am writing this letter to raise awareness of my role here at Ormiston Forge Academy and to explain the vision myself and the Academy have for our students and the wider community.

I am an integrative counsellor that specialises in a variety of methods such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), attachment theory and person-centred counselling. I currently possess a Postgraduate Diploma (Level 7) in Integrative Counselling and Psychotherapy and I have been in practice for a number of years. I was employed as the Academy Counsellor at the start of 2022 and I have since been offering counselling sessions to a variety of students across all year groups.

I am aware that school can be a stressful and triggering time for our students, this is why it is our aim as an Academy to provide extra emotional support to students who are experiencing a wide variety of issues such as anxiety, academic stress, burnout, self-harm, depression etc. We try to offer as much support as possible and students who have been referred to counselling will receive an hour session each week for a minimum of 6 weeks. As the Academy counsellor I will endeavour to provide a non-judgemental and open-minded approach in sessions and I also aim to deliver mental health awareness classes to all students across the Academy. My aim is to work collaboratively with external agencies and parents/guardians so that the Academy can offer the most effective service as possible.

In regards to the process for students to access emotional support, there are a number of avenues for referrals, one of which is via the pastoral team, the head of years and the safeguarding team. Other ways to refer are self-referrals from the student and via a parent/carer. Once a referral is made, our referral database will decipher the relevant mental health interventions for that student. If a student requires counselling, and the student and parent/guardian agrees, parental consent will be needed by signing a counselling contract.

I would like to take the time to thank you for reading this letter and I look forward to working together to improve the well-being of our students.

Yours faithfully,

Mr J Oldaker
(MBACP Integrative Counsellor)