For those who feel sad, homesick or suspect that they have deeper psychological problems, the first port of call does not always have to be a consultant adolescent psychiatrist. Housemasters, deputy housemasters, matrons and other domestic staff are all adept when it comes to lending an ear or offering advice. In faith schools, a chaplaincy team may also be able to provide pastoral support.
So, there do exist many layers of support but I believe that independent schools go to much greater lengths than employing people to help children deal with stress. Malvern College, for instance, will be holding a conference on September 27 to explore the issues that affect children’s mental health whilst also proposing methods to raise children’s confidence and ways to manage stress.
With the misuse of social media often touted as being the biggest cause of teenage mental health problems, these are testing times for youngsters. This conference, and many others, will highlight the key cause of mental health issues, the importance of developing emotional resilience and how schools can create a “mental health aware” culture.
Hong Kong students do not generally report incidents of intolerance and bullying at UK independent schools. However, online threats remain a menace to all children. In-house counseling services are much-needed, but responsibility lies with our children too, as they need to make careful decisions about their time online.
Statistics show that schools are doing all the right things. For instance, 94 percent now run sessions for parents on issues of pastoral concern, while 45 percent have increased their provision of in-house counselors over the past five years.
Importantly, 44 percent of schools have increased provision for one -to- one meetings with form tutors.
Photo: D’Overbroeck’s College
Origianal article:
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news.php?id=174708&story_id=47072137&d_str=20161004&fc=14&sid=16
Mabel Chan is a principal consultant at Britannia StudyLink.
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