Counselling Service

At Sibford we want not only to help you achieve your academic ambitions but also to ensure your long-term mental health and emotional well-being which is why we provide a Counselling Service.

The service aims to be as flexible as possible in order for you to be able to concentrate on your studies and receive a confidential service for anything that is concerning you.

The school employs a qualified counsellor, Christine Stephens, who has lots of experience in working with young people. Christine is also the school's Independent Listener.

You can ask for an appointment with Christine by sending an email to:

help@sibfordschool.co.uk or cstephens@sibfordschool.co.uk

You only need to give your name and suggest a time that would be good for you to have some counselling. Christine is usually in school on Wednesdays, however, appointments can be made on different days if that suits you better. Christine also runs a 'drop in' sessions, when you can visit without an appointment. This takes place on the first Wednesday of each month between 1pm and 2pm in the Health Centre.

Christine Stephens

Your first appointment:

When you email to request a meeting with Christine you will receive a message back confirming the date and time of your first appointment. This appointment will include an assessment of your needs to ensure that you can be given the right sort of support. Please note, counselling cannot take place via email.

Parents and Fees:

Parents usually have to sign a form that they give permission for you to have counselling and that they will pay for it. However parents do not have any direct contact with the counsellor and your counselling will be confidential. In some special circumstances the school may pay for you to have a few sessions and this decision is usually made by Maggie Guy.

Confidentiality / Privacy

We make every effort to make sure that your counselling sessions remain confidential and private at all times. We even make sure that no one can see you through the window of the counselling room while you are in there.

We do not tell school staff, parents or friends what is said in the counselling session. The only time we would have to share information would be if we were concerned about you or someone else being harmed. This information would then be shared with Maggie Guy as she is the lead member of staff for Child Protection in the school. We would talk to you about why we have to share this information and how we would do it.

Please feel free to come and talk to us if you have any concerns about confidentiality.

Number of sessions

You are free to make appointments when you feel that you need them. Some students have a period of counselling lasting a few weeks and some students just have a few sessions, then they stop for a while and they come back for more later on. You do what feels right for you.

Other Questions

If you have any other questions about the counselling service, you can email (see the email address at the top of the page) or speak to Tricia in the Health Centre.