Counselling services

Tender description

North Ayrshire council on behalf of the Communities Directorate, and more specifically the Education Service, seek a provider to deliver a new service to promote and improve the mental health, emotional resilience and wellbeing of children and young people who are negatively affected or are at risk of being affected by poor mental health. This will be a counselling service which is intended to complement the existing school counselling service within North Ayrshire by providing counselling in schools for children aged 5 to 10 years within the primary school setting. The resultant contract will be for a period of 1 year with the option to extend by up to 12 months dependant on budget availability and satisfactory performance. The requirement is for a peripatetic counselling service which includes the appointment of 2.5 counsellors to support primary aged children across North Ayrshire and includes a provision to offer supervision, training support and ongoing management of the service. This will complement the existing counselling service which is currently being restructured to support children and young people of 11 years and over but will be based predominantly in secondary schools. In North Ayrshire, the provision of counselling is seen as part of the ‘Nurturing North Ayrshire’ approach that aims to ensure schools support the wellbeing of young people through a range of nurturing approaches, and are safe, inclusive and nurturing environments for young people. North Ayrshire embraces the model of whole school approaches to support wellbeing. Counselling supports the emotional health of the pupil that underpins academic achievement and facilitates the building and management of helpful relationships in the school environment.