Guidance counselling cuts hit religious-run schools hard

Students at religious-owned schools that do not charge fees have lost out most from cuts to guidance counselling, according to research.

The changes to how second-level schools are staffed since 2012 mean no guarantee of dedicated hours for career guidance or counselling support. The effective increase in pupil-teacher ratios removed the provision of a full-time guidance counsellor for every 500 students, meaning some schools put holders of those jobs back teaching curricular subjects.

Liam Harkin surveyed 273 guidance counsellors for PhD research at St Patrick’s College in Dublin about the impact on their work during the first year of the changes.