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19 Health Centre The Health Centre at Queen Margaret College is staffed by our Nurse and our Guidance Counsellor. The Guidance Counsellor supports students by helping with issues such as stress management, relationships and mental wellbeing. Students and parents can access professional and confidential counselling services. Students can seek support from the Guidance Counsellor for many reasons such as parents separating, relationship problems, grief, bullying, feeling down, exam stress and feeling lonely or stuck. Our Middle and Senior School students don’t need parental permission to receive counselling. This is because counselling services in all schools are legally viewed as a health service. Under health legislation, every person who attends counselling is presumed competent to give informed consent, unless there are reasonable grounds for believing that the person is not competent. For Junior School students, parents need to provide consent prior to their child attending counselling. Very occasionally the Guidance Counsellor and the Head of Junior School may decide that it is in a student’s best interests that the parents are not informed, and the student is deemed competent to give informed consent. Our record management process complies with the requirements of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors’ (NZAC) Code of Ethics. This means that all documentation, recorded in any form (electronic, audio, visual and text), is be securely stored securely, and destroyed appropriately. Details from counselling sessions must remain confidential in order to uphold the NZAC’s Code of Ethics and maintain the integrity of the Guidance Counsellor position. Is it important that we respect and retain trusting relationships with our students and this includes, wherever practicable, ensuring there are no breaches in confidentiality. However, if a student or someone else is in imminent serious danger, then the Guidance Counsellor will discuss with the student who else needs to be informed in order to keep everyone safe. If the student refuses to include others, the Guidance Counsellor can break confidentiality after consultation with an experienced external supervisor, because of duty to prevent harm. Our Guidance Counsellor regularly asks students if staff and/or parents can be informed of certain issues even when imminent danger is not present. Meeting with the Guidance Counsellor is free, and appointments can be made from 8.30am–3.30pm. If students prefer to seek support outside of school, they can access up to six free counselling sessions through their GP. The School Nurse is a registered nurse who is available to students between 8.30am–3.30pm. Students are encouraged to visit the School Nurse if they are feeling unwell while at school.