Connecting the School to the Services

Some children need more than a teacher who has been trained to listen. School-based counselling and referral is how we make sure that these children are not left without help.

A child who has experienced severe trauma, who is showing signs of a mental health condition, or who is living with a situation that is beyond what the classroom can address needs a level of support that the school cannot provide on its own. School-based counselling and referral is how we make sure that these children are not left without help. It is the pathway between the school and the services that can respond to a child's needs, and it is what keeps a child from falling through the gap between what the school can see and what the services can provide.

We work with schools to establish counselling and referral systems that can support children whose needs are greater than the classroom can meet. The system begins with the identification of the services that already exist in the area. Health facilities, social services, child protection units, and other providers of support for children are often present but not connected to the school. We map what is available, understand what each service can provide, and work with the school and the services to establish the connections that allow a child to be referred and receive support.

Building the Pathway

Teachers identifying children who need referral

Identifying Children for Referral

How it works:

  • We work with teachers to identify the children who need referral. A teacher who has been trained in mental health and psychosocial support knows what to look for, but she also needs to know when what she is seeing requires more than she can provide.
  • We work with teachers on the criteria for referral — the signs that suggest a child's needs are beyond the classroom — and on how to act when those signs are present. The teacher does not make a diagnosis. She makes an observation, and she passes it on to the person who is equipped to respond.

The purpose of school-based counselling and referral is that a child who needs help that the school cannot provide is connected to the help she needs, and that the connection is followed through. A child who is identified but not referred is a child who is left without support. A child who is referred but not followed up is a child who may still be left without support. The work of the referral system is to make sure that the connection between what the school sees and what the service provides is real, and that a child who needs support receives it. This is one of the ways that we work to keep children in school, because a child who is not getting the help she needs is a child who is at risk of dropping out.

A school where counselling and referral are in place

School-based counselling and referral connects children whose needs exceed what the classroom can provide to the services that can respond, and follows the process through so that the child actually receives the support.

Our commitment

Some children need more than a teacher who has been trained to listen. School-based counselling and referral connects the school to the services that can respond to a child's needs.

Join us in connecting children to the help they need

Help us build the pathway between schools and the services that can respond to children's needs. Support our campaign, volunteer your time, or partner with us to strengthen counselling and referral across Kenya.

Every action counts—only a willingness to act is required.

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A school-based counselling session

Connecting the school to the services

Some children need more than a teacher who has been trained to listen. School-based counselling and referral is how we make sure that these children are not left without help.