It would have been difficult for another school in the eastern end of the island to have outscored Norwich Primary in the regional segment of the education ministry’s Exemplary Guidance Counselling Programme competition. For the 60-year-old school developed its Guidance Counselling Programme from research rather than perception.

According to school officials, a needs assessment survey was conducted among students, teachers and parents by the Guidance Department. It revealed concerns of low self-esteem, financial difficulties and conflict resolution problems.

Resulting from the research, the school established a welfare system to provide students with free lunches, as many parents cannot afford to do so.

“A lot of children do not have lunch, so we started a Welfare Programme providing needy students with free lunches throughout the week,” explained principal Claudia McLean. “We also have students who are orphans and who need this support.”

Twenty-eight students are currently being assisted by the lunch programme, which is funded from the proceeds of events staged by the school.

McLean also revealed that the Welfare Programme extends beyond lunches to providing uniforms and other items of clothing for needy students.

“My father is not working now, so when I don’t have lunch money I go to my teacher or the guidance counsellor,” said a 12-year- old student.

The student’s father, who asked not to be named, explained the difficulty he was having. “I might do some farming, carpentry or some mason work,” he said, “but sometimes I don’t get any work or I don’t get paid at all.”

He was very grateful, he said, for the assistance being given to his child.

Another student expressed her appreciation for the programme. “My mother does days’ work and my father is a fisherman, but sometimes they do not have any money, so I am happy that I can get lunch at school,” she said.

Her mother, while lamenting that at present she and her husband were not working and had five children to send to school, said she was thankful for the Welfare Programme.

“I am glad that the school is helping us with lunch,” said the mother, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Thank God for Miss Roper, she is very good to us.”

The Miss Roper she referred to is Guidance Counsellor Celia Roper who, along with the principal, other staff members and a team of prefects, runs the Guidance Counselling Programme.

The school sits in the small district of Norwich, about 10 minutes drive from Port Antonio on Jamaica’s north-eastern coast. The majority of the students attending Norwich Primary are from that and neighbouring districts where fishing, farming and small retailing are the main sources of income.

But many of these are not large-scale operations, so unemployment continues to be a problem, making it difficult for many parents to provide for their children.

In addition to the welfare activities, Norwich Primary has organised several events to create a friendlier, more informative and harmonious school environment. So the school now observes Peace Day, Friendship Day, Boys’ Day, Girls’ Day, HIV/AIDS Day, Fire Awareness Day, Drug Awareness Day and Jamaica Day.

Parents’ Day, Father’s Day and Mother’s Day have also been incorporated into the programme to strengthen the link between homes and school. Resource persons, including guidance counsellors from other schools, are often invited to the activities, which complement the weekly counselling sessions that are already in place for groups or individuals.

The strategy, it appears, is working.

Listen to one mother who admits to seeing a positive behavioural change in her 11 year-old son who, before now, was frequently involved in fights. “The teacher had to call me regularly about his behaviour, but now she no longer needs to,” said the parent, who opted not to be identified.

The student attributes the change in his behaviour to counselling. “She (the guidance counsellor) told me how to solve my problems and (how) to behave myself,” he said.

Although the programme has been successful, it has its challenges. With a school population of over 500, available space becomes limited. Until recently, there was no office or room for counselling, so guidance counsellor Roper created a makeshift private area for the service.

But that room is very small, so Roper initiated what she called “Counselling in the Garden”, where students are taken outdoors, away from the school setting, to an area which school officials hope to develop into a garden in the near future.

“This will help students to relax for more successful counselling sessions,” Roper said.

Despite the challenges, Roper, McLean and their team say they are committed to delivering the best education to Norwich Primary students.

Angela Reid is a communications consultant working on behalf of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.