Student Support Services

Objective

Our department is a conglomeration of helping professionals consisting of Counsellors, Student Welfare Officers and Special Educational Needs Officers. As a synergised team, we seek to address the diverse learning and social-emotional needs of the student population at Crest Secondary School. Beyond co-constructing solutions with students for their immediate challenges, the Student Support Services aims to fortify the character and competencies of our students as they trek towards young-adulthood.

Counselling Support

School Counsellors in Crest Secondary play an integral role in supporting the social, mental and emotional well-being of Crestans. As Crestans forge ahead in their quest for self-discovery, personal development and fulfillment, we as School Counsellors journey alongside them, providing essential skills and competencies needed to cope with and overcome life's challenges resiliently. Some of the key services we provide are:

1) Individual and Group counselling

2) Psychoeducation on mental, emotional and social well-being

3) Workshops and activities that suit the needs of students (self-esteem, communication skills, coping strategies, etc.).

4) Referrals to external agencies e.g. youth mental health services and family services centres.

As an expression of our indispensable partnership with parents/care-givers, we have consolidated some parenting resources for easy access (https://sites.google.com/crestsec.edu.sg/resourcesforparents).

Special Educational Needs Support

Special Educational Needs (SEN) Officers work collaboratively with key stakeholders such as parents, teachers, school leadership team, and professionals to maximize the potential of Crestans with mild SEN. Our passion working with young persons with SEN puts them at the heart of everything we do. We strive to create an inclusive school system, systematize and coordinate various levels of support, and design customized intervention (individual/group) to equip our students with skills beyond the secondary school years. Some of the key interventions we provide are:

Literacy support
Social and communication skills
Application for Assistive Technology Devices
Collaboration with VWOs for itinerant school-based educational support services (e.g. AWWA & SADeaf)

Student Welfare Support

As a Student Welfare Officer in Crest Secondary, we provide social support to students-at-risk. We work with their families and other community partners to address barriers to learning and strengthen the safety net for these students. Some of our key services are:

Providing student-centric casework support for students-at-risk and their families,
Mentoring students-at-risk and empowering them to make informed life choices,
Conducting home visits to assess the needs of students-at-risk and their families,
Referring students’ families to the relevant agencies for access to community resources e.g. youth agencies, family service centres,
Collaborating with community agencies to mitigate issues for the students-at-risk and their families,
Re-integrating students who have been absent from school.