World Mental Health Day shines a spotlight on the the importance of learning to cope with life’s challenges. This is a vital part of a well-rounded education, enabling young people to develop into emotionally resilient adults. At Loughborough Schools Foundation, experienced, and highly qualified Counsellors are embedded into all three schools to ensure that pupils receive specialist support during the times when their needs go beyond the guidance of the Schools’ Pastoral Teams.
All children and young people go through times of change, and this can cause pressure and stress that some find hard to manage on their own. Through first-response support, long term issues can be prevented from developing. Particularly now, when NHS waiting lists are so long, the ability for a pupil to see an accredited Counsellor, usually within a week, is invaluable.
At Fairfield, Mrs Lauren Hichens works with children from Kindergarten, Fairfield’s pre-school offer, through to Year 6, supporting their emotional wellbeing through a range of therapeutic approaches.
With a master’s degree in Psychotherapy, and a particular focus on neurodevelopmental conditions and developmental psychology, Mrs Hichens is well-placed to work closely with children in a way that is both evidence-based and highly responsive to the individual child.
Depending on the child’s age and needs, Mrs Hichens uses a child-led approach, which can involve a mix of play therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and solution-focused techniques. Support at Fairfield can cover a wide range of concerns including bereavement, family changes (such as separation or divorce), anxiety, difficulties with anger, low self-esteem, or just feeling overwhelmed.
For younger children, play is a powerful tool to help them express and make sense of what they’re going through whilst for children in the older year groups, more structured approaches, like CBT, are used to help them explore their thoughts and feelings.
Mrs Hichens also supports neurodiverse children within the School, including those with ASD and ADHD, helping them feel understood, supported, and equipped to manage challenges both inside and outside of the classroom.
Alongside ongoing therapeutic work, ‘Time to Talk’ sessions are a key part of the pastoral offering. These are short, one-off lunchtime appointments that children can book (either on their own or with a friend) if they just want a quick chat. They might be curious about what counselling is, have something small they want to get off their chest, or need a bit of help sorting out a disagreement between friends. It’s a really accessible way for children to check in, and it helps normalise talking about feelings as part of everyday life at school.
One of the things I really value about Fairfield is its proactive and open approach to emotional wellbeing. Counselling is framed as a positive and ordinary part of school life – it’s treated much like going out for a music or LAMDA lesson. That culture really helps reduce stigma and encourages children to seek support when they need it.
Mrs Lauren Hichens, School Counsellor
Counsellors from all three schools also work closely together and meet around once a month as a peer group to ensure a consistent approach in terms of referral process and person-centred techniques is being used across the Foundation. This is useful when it comes to pupil transitions between schools or when providing support with issues which may affect siblings attending different schools within the Foundation.
This unique, interwoven network brings together the experiences and qualifications of four specialist Counsellors to ensure pupils have access to a direct and integral source of support to help them excel in education and beyond.
