If you cannot help a student
So what happens if a student comes to talk to you and you are just not comfortable with the idea; you might not be in a good place yourself; you might feel it isn’t appropriate; or you just might not relate well to the particular student. For some reason we have noticed that students will often come looking for support from teachers who they have the most confrontation with, which may be because they perceive that teacher as strong or they might even be seeking “permission” to talk about something that is bothering them.
If you find yourself in a position where a student wants to talk with you and you cannot help them then there is some guidance available:
- Bear in mind that the student may have a serious issue to report
- Don’t let the student start telling you the problem and then cut them off.
- Be upfront that you can’t assist and tell them why, gently.
- Tell the student who can assist them.
- Take the student to that person; don’t just send them off. That can be seen as rejection.
- The student came to you for a reason; offer to stay with them while they talk to the other teacher or counsellor.
- Make sure that you report the fact that the student came to see you so that there is a record.
- Always follow your school’s child protection policy.