Managing Stakeholders

How to have challenging conversations built on a partnership of respect and trust with parents, teachers and students

Working with students

Four students, walking and laughing together

Four students – and four important counselling lessons learned

It’s important to understand what’s motivating students, and to get to know them outside the counselling office – as these four case studies illustrate

Two push buttons, one marked 'Facts' and the other labelled 'Beliefs'

How do our cognitive biases affect our counselling?

We like to think of ourselves as rational beings, but we approach life – and the university-application process – burdened with cognitive biases

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How to motivate your students – and make sure they motivate themselves

Some students will need endless cajoling simply to register on a university application platform. Is there anything counsellors can do about this?

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Why we need to shed our cultural baggage

We are all shaped by our cultural context – but, in order to do our jobs effectively, we need to be able to transcend it

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Five ways to help students feel valued

To nurture success, counsellors need to build strong relationships with students. Here are five ways to ensure that students feel valued

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How to help your students set effective goals

Applying to university involves successfully setting and completing a series of goals. How can we best help students with this?

A smiling counsellor chats to two students

How do you create a relationship of trust with students?

What does an honest and authentic relationship with students look like? And how is it best achieved?

Teacher in a classroom with teenage students

Counsellor resource: why counsellors should be classroom teachers, too

Delivering regular classroom lessons could make a huge difference to your counselling. Here are some ways in which it could help your students, along with a downloadable course curriculum plan to help you structure your counselling classroom sessions

A counsellor speaks to a father and son

How to create the right relationships

Counsellors need to empower students and parents to make informed decisions about university admissions. Sharing our knowledge allows us to work together as a community

Working with colleagues and SLT

Colin Bell

How COBIS is championing high school counsellors

Colin Bell, CEO of COBIS, shares how COBIS is helping school counsellors to access professional development and gives some tips on how to work with stakeholders to champion their role

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Starting a new school? Here's how to fit in

A counsellor starting at a new school needs to be able to understand its culture, speak its language and work out how they fit into the bigger picture

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University visits and fairs: how to meet all stakeholders’ needs

University visits and university fairs can be instructive, useful and enjoyable for all involved – with the right preparation

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How do you convince stakeholders that you’re on their side?

Actively listening, establishing trust and navigating challenging conversations with empathy will enhance your ability to help students and their parents

Working with parents and families

Hand holding up gold medal

Are parents demanding a well-known university? Here's what to tell them

Families often look for a strong brand name and high place in university rankings when selecting a university – even if that's not what their child needs

A robot hand holding a screen around free-floating letters

ChatGPT prompts parents can use to support their children’s university search

It’s useful for students to be able to discuss university plans with their parents. But if parents don’t know where to start, these AI prompts can help them with discussion points

Parent and school counsellor chatting happily

Four tips for putting parents at their ease

As college counsellors, we can sometimes forget about our students’ parents – but in many countries the parents are the decision-makers

Counsellor and parent looking at a laptop together

How counsellors can communicate well with parents

Some parents will spoonfeed their children; others will not be involved at all. Finding the right balance is important – and that’s where the counsellor comes in

Parent teacher meeting

Whose career choice is it – students’ or parents’?

Parents can have very definite ideas about which are suitable degrees and which are just ‘games’. But no child should be coerced into a career that doesn’t match their skillset, says Fareha Yusuf

A boy and his father talk to a member of school staff

Ten tips for working effectively with parents

Applying to university is a significant step for students and their families. But parental expectations can often create additional pressure for students. How do we deal with this?

Collaborating with universities

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How to plan student visits to university campuses

With nearly 30,000 universities around the world, it can be difficult for students to know which ones to apply to – which is why visiting some of them can be helpful

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Counsellor resource: How to collaborate with university admissions reps

Admissions representatives are founts of knowledge when it comes to university applications – partnering with them is a win-win situation. There is also a downloadable letter template and spreadsheet to help your organise your relationships with admissions offices

Two students, chatting with an adult over coffee

What sort of format can university visits take?

Students have demanding schedules and differing needs. So it’s best to offer a range of options for university visits

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How do I arrange university visits to my school?

If you want university representatives to visit your school, you’ll need to build positive relationships with admissions officers

Three students talking to a visitor in the school library

Why are university visits necessary?

University visits involve welcoming representatives from colleges and universities to your high school to speak to students. But what do they actually achieve?

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