CYP Now - Opinion: Debate - Should schools offer counselling services for pupils?

Children's minister Margaret Hodge has called for trained counsellors to be based in schools, but critics claim the scheme would swamp schools with non-educational issues and say money should be spent on core resources.

YES: John Bangs, head of education, National Union of Teachers

Margaret Hodge's proposal is not so new and not so remarkable. In the 1970s and early 1980s, particularly after the publication of the Elton report on pupil behaviour, many secondary schools appointed counsellors and found them valuable - then lost them when the money ran out.

Vulnerable young people value a safe, neutral space to discuss problems. Proper counsellors don't deliver anyone's agenda, however. The last thing young people with problems need is psychobabble.

YES: Bill Hibberd, director, The Parent Organisation

Teachers are no longer seen as people to whom a child might turn, and parents can easily be too caught up in the daily pressures associated with managing work and home to really listen to their children's concerns.

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