The characteristics of cooperation between head teachers and school counsellors are presented theoretically and empirically. Distributed leadership means that head teachers do not lead schools through school-based educators but rather together with them, with school counsellors playing an important role. Numerous research studies demonstrate that a strong head teacher–school counsellor relationship is a crucial component of meeting the vision, goals and well-being of the school. The findings of our research study, conducted among head teachers and school counsellors, show positive attitudes of both groups towards mutual cooperation. Both considered the cooperation to be good or very good, the head teachers rated it even better. It is interesting to observe that the head teachers found more support in school counsellors than vice versa. Also, more of the head teachers said they saw school counsellors as partners than did the school counsellors. It thus remains to be seen how school counsellors’ perception of the school leadership’s support in their work could be strengthened and how head teachers could be encouraged to support the work of the school counselling service even more, so that this relationship becomes reciprocal and that each party’s ability to perform their work will be enhanced by the strong relationship.

This article examines the role of the school counselling service as a protective factor in adolescents’ lives. School counsellors provide adolescents with information, emotional support, and counselling, and for many adolescents, they are the only source of support outside the family. The findings of a study conducted among 1,363 primary school students and 306 secondary school students from Slovenia are presented. The data showed that the students regard school counsellors favourably, and they generally have a high degree of trust in them.

This article examines the hidden curriculum from the perspective of school counsellors. The main research questions ask what school counsellors understand by the hidden curriculum, how they define it, and how they respond to it. The findings show that school counsellors are familiar with the basic definitions, but a more in-depth analysis shows their understanding is incomplete. More attention should be paid to the presence of the hidden curriculum.