School support services is a program of providing the school with a professional team that consists of a counselor, a nurse, a social worker, an audiologist, a psychiatrist, and a speech therapist. Student support services work with students, teachers, parents, and administration to provide support facilities to every student. For the better learning of all students, they provide consultation, classroom lessons, group counseling, and resources for the development of the positive relationship between students and educators.
They create a link between students, their families, and school administration and helps to increase a student’s attachment to school. While approaching student’s development of discipline and social competencies, the team involves the teachers and support staff such as psychologists, counselors, and nurses. Before starting effective teaching and learning, student’s social-emotional needs are discussed. The students support services team ensures that every student has access to academic and support services. Nurses are responsible for providing health education to students, staff health counseling, and physical health care. Psychiatrists, social workers, librarians, and counselors also support learning by performing different responsibilities.
What services can be provided
Health care services, school support services, counseling, social work, special education support, and different other services are provided by support services in Schools. These teams provide parent counseling services, medical services, and provides early identification of a child’s disabilities. For those children who are experiencing financial problems, health problems, or any trauma, it can be harder to learn and continue their studies. For the youth and children, support services professionals provide special education, consultation, and assessments for the evaluation of a child. These services also include mental health lines, Alcohol, and drugs information service, emergency line services, etc.
Why student support services are important?
Student support services are very important for the growth and development of students. Student services by the team of professionals are for academic growth, college help, and social-emotional growth of students and youth. These professionals provide a learning facility for all students making their emotional state stable, helping them with career goals, and developing social competencies.
Role of School social workers.
Social workers for schools are responsible for creating a positive learning environment for students. Social workers are master’s degree holders in social work. They assist parents and students through counseling with them. They assess the factors that are affecting student’s ability to achieve any study-related goal or implement improvement strategies. After the identification of the factors affecting a child’s growth, the Student support services team starts implementing the strategies for children and their families. These strategies include counseling, making parents participate in student success making children and their families participate in the development of education plans for students, consulting with teachers and school administration. These professionals coordinate with community resources, school administration, and other staff, and the family of children on behalf of students.
However, a comprehensive, engaging, and effective team of professionals providing student support services is becoming vital for schools and colleges. Understanding a child’s ability and disability in time can help in providing the interventions for the growth of the child.