School counsellor 'beneficial to teachers and pupils alike'

School staff who are suffering stress induced by teaching benefit from seeing a school counsellor, a new study suggests.

And this advantage of having this extra member of staff on site extends to students, the Times Educational Supplement reports.

Those from disadvantaged backgrounds who have emotional problems find this service especially useful, researchers from Bedfordshire University noted.

"With children who have pretty tough home lives, they need somebody there to listen to them and respect their thoughts," they said.

The study found that those who do meet with the counsellor can progress academically.

However, in interviews conducted with parents, teachers and cousellors, it was suggested that pupils and staff should refer to the cousellor by their first name in order to remove any negative connotations from their title.

Teachers in Scotland can now benefit from a specialised helpline and website set up as a support service by Teacher Support Scotland earlier this month.