The Instituto Pedagógico Nacional (IPN) has a group of professionals who contribute to the educational processes of the school and respond to the specific needs of the community from an interdisciplinary perspective. Taking the objectives of the Institutional Educational Project (PEI) as a guiding principle, the School Welfare and Counseling Department helps to promote the passion for knowledge and the constant concern to create mechanisms for coexistence. In addition, it promotes the bio-psychosocial development of students by involving other educational agents, such as teachers and directors, parents or guardians of the Institute’s children and adolescents.
General Objective
To develop and apply strategies of guidance, support, and accompaniment to the educational community of the IPN, allowing the development of the educational and integral processes of the students that may arise in the school context.
Services
In order to implement these strategies, the IPN’s School Welfare and Counseling Department offers the following services:
- Health Guidance
- Psycho-pedagogy
- Occupational Therapy
- Speech Therapy
- Psychology
Health Guidance
The medical counseling service aims to assist and monitor the school community in maintaining their well-being within the IPN premises during the school day focused on:
- By means of health guide, detecting whether the child requires referral to the EPS or school policy for medical assessment.
- Report to parents whether urgent referral of the student to the doctor or home management.
- Routinely assess students for symptoms or possible exposure to Covid-19 in order to perform contact tracing, maintaining preventive isolation and, something very importantly, maintaining the self-care to reduce the infection risk.
- Administer treatments and medications prescribed by medical professionals to students who require them, prior written authorization. However, it is preferable that medications may be administered at home.
- Promote the health of the educational community in terms of healthy habits and identify and assess the needs and care required by students, taking into account biopsychosocial issues.
- Supervise the balance of the food offered by the school canteen, including the food committee.
- Support the design, implementation and evaluation of specific protocols and action guides for biosafety of the Instituto Pedagógico Nacional.
- Promote health maintenance within the student community based on self-care strategies and education on topics of epidemiological interest for prevention of diseases in the different ages of the school environment.
Speech therapy
The IPN’s speech therapy service is designed to monitor the development and acquisition of communication skills necessary for learning (speaking and expressing themselves correctly, listening, reading, understanding, and writing) according to the evolutionary scales of growth and development. It seeks also to provide students, teachers and families with strategies and tools to strengthen the skills of each school grade from kindergarten to third grade, thus minimizing difficulties in the role and school performance. It works together with the other services of the School Wellbeing and Guidance Service in order to support students, parents, and teachers from an integral point of view.
Occupational therapy
Occupational therapy at the IPN is aimed at following students from kindergarten to third grade in order to promote and enhance their own occupational skills according to the neuro-maturation processes at the motor, sensory, perceptual, cognitive, social and play levels. This is in order to promote the means of adaptation and active participation in their environment, maximizing their level of functionality and independence for the enjoyment of school life. Specifically, it seeks to provide students, teachers and families with strategies and tools to strengthen learning skills. Since it is during these years that the foundation for future knowledge is laid, the developmental framework and school readiness are considered in order to carry out preventive work and minimize difficulties in school roles and performance.
Occupational therapy
Psychology:
The IPN Psychological Counseling Service aims to support the affective-emotional processes of the educational community in order to improve the integral development of students. To this end, the IPN observes, counsels, and follows up on children whose mental health is compromised, which has an impact on their academic performance and their ability to live together, thus requiring the development of strategies that bring together families and various members of the school community. In addition, group activities are developed through workshops and tools for promotion and prevention.
Coordination of School Wellbeing and Guidance.
Service protocol:
- Recognize the situation.
- Referral or Voluntary Request.
- Referral for review or case assessment.
- Activation of pathways and protocols (internal or external) Reports.
- Recommendations to students, parents, tutors, and teachers.
- Follow up.
- Case closure.
This service protocol is mainly based on the pillars of school guidance provided by the Ministry of National Education in its School Guidance Plan. These are: attention, guidance, and follow-up. It also includes the principles of equality and universality, individualization and recognition of diversity, confidentiality, co-responsibility, comprehensive development, among others.
