Providing basic pastoral care and career counselling to help our students develop in character, values and the capacities to learn socially and emotionally is one of the competency domains of our very own CLTE. Holistic student development is a very crucial aspect of NP's goal to nurture students who are passionate learners, big-hearted individuals and global-smart professionals.
level needs. The then Minister of Education, Mr Heng Swee Keat in 2011 launched the SVE initiative in 2011 to better deliver a holistic and values-driven education. The mental health and the special education needs of students affect all aspects of the school community – from student engagement and academic achievement, to social adjustment and staff morale. It is noted that schools that promote a positive learning environment and emotional support perform better. These basic health care needs provide the critical foundation for school success.
The DE Pastoral Care and Counselling Unit was set up in 2015 with a strong belief that “THE MIND MATTERS”. The higher level needs of our students cannot be met effectively without first meeting their lower
As a big-hearted educator, it is our duty and responsibility to find brilliance in all children as they are all unique and the precious gems of their parents.
To kick start DE’s pastoral care and counselling unit, Kenneth/Senior Manager set up a counselling room within DE to provide his clients with a safe environment to talk and share. He also conducts regular workshops for his colleagues to help equip as many DE staff with the basic skills and resources to identify “at risk” students – including that of students with clinical depression, special education needs and those who are not likely to graduate within 3 years of their studies for some reasons (health, social and emotional challenges). Kenneth who is a clinically trained psychotherapist, conducts simple workshop sessions to share his knowledge and counselling skills with colleagues focusing very much on questioning skills (motivational questions albeit others).
Kenneth also helps educate his colleagues on some very basic psychotherapy models like those of Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Choice Theory, and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy. He invites colleagues to come forward and together they form the “Mentor Team” of DE. Students with social and emotional, mental health and special education needs will be assigned a mentor that will journey with them throughout their 3-year of studies with DE. This is on top of the normally assigned semester advisor. People with SEN do not often take well to changes.
Besides working with students, Kenneth has also worked alongside parents, polyclinics, child guidance clinics, and psychiatrists from both private practice and those from local restructured hospitals. He also worked with special needs institutions and associations such as Dyslexic Associations of Singapore and Irlene Syndrome Clinic.
Through the constant in-house counselling care and services, screening, modifications of teaching pedagogy and examination support, DE has been able to support the needs of at-risk students.
