Into the 21st Century: The Mccrone and McConnell Reports – Opening The Possibility for Introducing Full-Time School Counsellors into Scottish Schools

Abstract

Unlike some other Western countries, most Scottish schools do not have full-time guidance teachers or school counsellors. In secondary schools, guidance teachers teach and provide educational, vocational and personal guidance, but are not trained as counsellors. Both the McCrone Report (Scottish Executive, 2001a) that focuses on teachers, workload and stress, and the McConnell Report (Scottish Executive, 2001b) that focuses on discipline and support for students, open up new possibilities for this wide-ranging role that has changed little since it was established in 1968. The article analyses these recent policies and some recent Scottish research to argue in favour of introducing full-time guidance teachers/school counsellors into Scottish schools to meet both student and teacher needs. A model of specialised and professionalised school counselling as exists in most New Zealand secondary schools is presented as a possible direction as Scotland reviews existing systems and addresses barriers to learning, social inclusion and student discipline.