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CWE-CWR-14 Compassion, Welfare & Environment Community Welfare & Relief CORE Excellence v2.9.7

Availability of trained counsellors or referral pathways

Assesses the availability of confidential and professional counselling services, either in-house or through formal referral partnerships, to support the mental and emotional wellbeing of the community. Pastoral/faith guidance (e.g., imam support) must be clearly separated from clinical counselling, with staff trained to triage and refer to qualified professionals when issues exceed pastoral scope.

Compliance 2
  • A clear confidentiality policy is in place
    Documentation Essential
  • A safeguarding and risk escalation procedure is in place (self-harm/suicide, domestic abuse, child/adult safeguarding) with named safeguarding lead and emergency signposting
    Safety Essential
Basic 2
  • Regular access to counselling or formal referral pathways
    Process Essential
  • Information about the service is accessible to the community.
    Process Important
Good 4
  • Services provided by qualified professionals or documented referral partners
    Quality Essential
  • All in-house counsellors receive regular clinical supervision and operate within a defined scope of practice
    Quality Essential
  • Service standards are defined and published internally (eligibility, session limits, response times, referral thresholds)
    Process Essential
  • Regular availability of appointments
    Excellence High
Better 7
  • An integrated Islamic and secular approach to counselling
    Innovation High
  • A sliding scale fee structure to ensure accessibility
    Stakeholder Engagement High
  • Trauma-informed care practices
    Excellence High
  • Monthly clinical supervision and annual CPD (including safeguarding and suicide prevention)
    Quality High
  • Clear pastoral-care pathway (imam/chaplaincy) with defined referral triggers to clinicians
    Process High
  • Equality and accessibility: interpreters, disability access, women-only options where needed, online sessions, and youth-safe provision
    Stakeholder Engagement High
  • Service-level dashboard reviewed quarterly by trustees/SMT (anonymised)
    Governance Medium

Related Criteria

CWE-CWR-01 Weekly Dignified Food Support Service (Food Bank, Pantry, or Hot Meals) CWE-CWR-02 Hardship-grant / zakāt emergency fund CWE-CWR-03 Volunteer management: hours logging, safer recruitment & safeguarding CWE-CWR-04 Partnerships with local authorities and community organisations (NGOs/VCSE) CWE-CWR-05 User-impact survey results
Version
2.9.7 2025-11-05

Discussion (1)

Administrator 2026-03-07 11:08:01.270982

📋 **Version updated: 1.0.0 → 2.9.7** **Changes:** Updated islamic_references from mizan-297.json

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