Perceptions of Support Worker Roles in English Secondary Schools: Impact on Transition to Higher Education

Perceptions of Support Worker Roles in English Secondary Schools: Impact on Transition to Higher Education

Sarah J. Pavey, Ros Sewell
Copyright: © 2023 |Pages: 20
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-6684-8198-1.ch001
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Abstract

Transition from school to higher education is an exciting but stressful time for school leavers. They may be living away from home with all the extra responsibilities this brings. In addition, despite a clutch of great grades, they will be learning to adapt to different academic expectations. It is not surprising that for many this impacts negatively on their wellbeing. This chapter explores the preparation of school leavers for their new journey. In England, unlike other countries, school librarians who might offer academic support and school counsellors who could identify potential mental health issues are not statutory. In some schools they have a very different role to the services provided by a university and may not even be qualified. So how does a student begin to understand the availability of support if they have no school model to follow? This chapter will attempt to address concerns in this dichotomy.
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Background

The role of the school librarian and the school counsellor within secondary schools in England is very different to how these professionals offer services in higher education (HE). Increasingly a librarian employed by a school, focusses only on providing “reading for pleasure” support (BMG Research, 2019). The school counselling service, where it exists, is perceived as a referral service for those students in need of help for identified areas of concern (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, 2015). In HE, librarians support academic learning including research guidance and advice on academic writing style (Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, 2023). The counselling service is very much concerned with general wellbeing, dealing with a new environment away from home and is open for self-referral (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, 2017). There has been much reporting on how transition to HE affects the mental health of undergraduates, sometimes with tragic consequences. Here we will discuss the barriers that might contribute to students being unwilling to contact library or counselling services when arriving at university and how these might be overcome to ensure the students can manage their transition more smoothly.

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