Out of Our Comfort Zone.

Abstract

Effective pastoral services in schools depend on leadership from the board of trustees and the principal, as well as teamwork and trust among all involved in the pastoral network. The counsellor has a critical role in developing and maintain ing the network as s/he is the nexus linking many "players" in the school, community and key social agencies. The development of the pastoral services in our South Auckland high school has been guided by the Vision, Values and Principles of the New Zealand Curriculum. This article describes the philosophy behind, and the implementation of, our pastoral services, which embrace all aspects of students' well-being and development, the counsellor's role in the process, the importance of an holistic approach that incorporates spirituality in the lives of students, and aspects of safe practice in a challenging environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of New Zealand Journal of Counselling is the property of New Zealand Association of Counsellors and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)