Panaga School

Panaga School provides Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) through a formal School Counselling Policy, with the counsellor acting as a fully integrated member of the pastoral team to support the whole school community. The counsellor engages with students via in-class PSHE activities, assemblies, and informal chats at break times, as well as through drop-in or planned sessions. Access to counselling follows a defined referral pathway; staff referrals and parental requests are accommodated with consent where required, and Melilas students may self-refer while Rampayoh/Teraja students require parental consent. The service is designed to support emotional well‑being, resilience, and personal development and operates as part of a broader pastoral framework with regular coordination with senior leaders and other pastoral staff. In emergencies or crises, the counsellor can coordinate with external specialists and facilitate appropriate referrals, with signposted external practitioners and crisis support options available.

Panaga School is an inclusive mainstream school with an Additional Needs Support Department; it does not have a dedicated specialist SEN unit for more complex needs. The school uses a Graduated Approach to ALN with three Waves of intervention: Wave 1 is quality inclusive teaching; Wave 2 provides small-group specialist support; Wave 3 delivers individualised 1‑1 programmes, often with external specialists when needed. Admissions for students with ALN consider capacity and resource availability; if a student requires Wave 3 support, entry may be contingent on the school's ability to provide appropriate backing. The school works with Brunei Shell Petroleum and International School Brunei (ISB) for additional or specialist provision, including access to ISB's Inclusive Learning Centre for more intensive support when required. An assessment, plan, do, and review cycle is used to monitor progress and adjust provisions, and identification of needs is done by teachers in collaboration with the Additional Needs Department; some needs may be addressed through external referrals or assessments.

EAL is recognised as a type of need within Panaga School's SEN framework, with support provided through the Graduated Approach (Wave 2 small-group interventions and Wave 3 more intensive, individualised provision that may include EAL-focused strategies). The school may refer for specialist EAL assessments when needed, reflecting the acknowledgement that some language needs require external input. The Admissions Policy confirms Panaga School as an inclusive mainstream setting that can provide additional learning support for mild to moderate needs, including EAL, but does not operate a dedicated specialist unit for complex EAL needs. For more intensive support, External options such as the International School Brunei's Inclusive Learning Centre can be considered.

Mental wellbeing is supported through the Panaga School Counselling Policy, which states counselling is available for all students requiring social or emotional support and that the counsellor is a core part of the pastoral team. The counsellor works across the school, including during PSHE lessons and assemblies, and can run drop-in sessions or planned meetings to assist students' mental health needs. There are defined referral pathways for staff and families, and students may self-refer (Melilas) or be referred by teachers (Rampayoh/Teraja require parental consent). The policy emphasises confidentiality and outlines the process for referrals to external practitioners if more specialist help is needed; it also provides a crisis management framework and a signposted mental health helpline for immediate help. The School Counselling Policy highlights the importance of staff wellbeing and professional supervision to sustain effective support for students.

Panaga School maintains a safeguarding framework referenced in the Policies section, which includes a Panaga School Safeguarding Policy and a Panaga School Counselling Policy. The Counselling Policy describes safeguarding-relevant procedures such as referral pathways to external agencies and involvement of senior leaders (Deputy Principals and the Principal) in complex cases, and ensures that safeguarding considerations are integrated into the pastoral system. The policy also covers confidentiality balanced with safeguarding duties, including how information is shared with relevant staff and external professionals when appropriate. There is an explicit open-door policy for students in distress and clear processes for responding to crises, with access to external clinical resources and a structured chain of communication with parents where safety is involved. These arrangements are documented in policy documents linked from the Panaga School policies page.