The Child Psychology Department, made up of a team of subject teachers, articulates with the other Departments at St. Peter’s International School, with a view to optimize resources and promote the well-being of the educational community. Consequently, working in a joint effort with the educational community, new ways of understanding needs are developed that allow each young individual to reach their full potential.
The Department acts on relationships that are established in the school context, bearing in mind that, throughout their school years, any student may present issues that require specific attention or differentiated educational resources.
Its main areas of intervention include psycho-pedagogical evaluations that characterize the intellectual, neuropsychological, behavioural, emotional and pedagogical functioning (reading, writing and calculation); emotional support in situations that significantly interfere with the student’s academic performance and personal wellbeing, referring the student abroad whenever a clinical and/or psychotherapeutic intervention is considered beneficial; specialized pedagogical support in the face of specific learning problems, promoting equity in favour of discrimination in access to the curriculum; support of a psycho-pedagogical nature to educators/teachers, parents and legal guardians, in the context of educational activities, aiming at school success and the adequate responses; implementation of structured programs as a response to specific needs (group or individual).
The end of Middle school coincides with the end of the common syllabus for all students. It is an important decision-making point for young people, which paves the way for several possible routes for further studies. In order to plan and build their life project, it is important for the young individual to choose and decide on what best suits their interests, aptitudes, values and personality traits. The School Guidance and Professional Counselling, designed for 9th grade students at St. Peter’s International School, takes into account the knowledge of the educational alternatives available to students and characteristics of the professional world, in order to promote an appropriate vocational choice and plan for the student’s career and personal objectives.
In this way, the Child Psychology Department will seek to ensure that when the time comes for the students to leave school, they all meet the required demands of Compulsory education. The Child Psychology Department, in a collaborative line of work with the teachers, will help guide students in defining the appropriate curricular process for their individual specificities, guaranteeing that all students can have equal opportunities and access to different types of educational offers available to them. (art. 6 of Decree-Law 54/2018, July 6).