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Sharing practice: sharing information
The following examples focus on facilitating good communication and information sharing across professions, and on ensuring that children, young people and their parents are kept informed and involved at all stages and aware of their rights under the Act.
Multi-agency strategic working group identifies and communicates issues regarding the Act to local services
A multi-agency strategic working group, with representatives from education, health, social work, parents and Resolve Mediation Service, has been established in East Dunbartonshire to identify and communicate issues regarding the Act to their services.
Education support officers work in collaboration with designated representatives to support schools within the authority. Monthly meetings, involving education support officers, a principal psychologist and learning support service manager, are held to plan and implement transition and decision-making, with a focus on special schools. Weekly team meetings, involving the education officer (support for learning), education support officers, the principal educational psychologist and learning support service manager, are held to share information and allow for peer evaluation and peer editing of coordinated support plans.
All education support officers took part in the national training on offer as it was rolled out and lesser experienced officers now shadow the more experienced officer in carrying out their duties to enable them to quickly acquire the skills required for the post.
Consultation with parents has taken place and information disseminated to parental support groups. Online guidance is currently being revised.
Multi-agency planning tool introduced to schools facilitates information sharing about support strategies with education staff and parents
A multi-agency planning document called the ASL/Supporting Learning Profile has been introduced to schools in Edinburgh, East Lothian and Midlothian by NHS Lothian's additional support for learning health team. This is a classroom-based planning tool that works from a key target in the child or young person's individualised educational programme. The profile clearly states what the child or young person can do and describes practical and relevant support strategies accessible to education staff and parents. Separate sections cover speech and language therapy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, school nursing and mental health services (emotional wellbeing.). Headings agreed by each service enable support to be targeted at relevant areas of need eg understanding language, seating and positioning, fine motor skills. Initial feedback from both teaching and therapy staff has been very positive, particularly since headings from different health professions may be combined into a joint document and collaboration between education and health staff is ensured in completing the profile. The profile may be used to inform a co-ordinated support plan. For more information email: Nicola.robinson@luht.scot.nhs.uk.
Ring-fenced meeting time facilitates information sharing between professionals across sectors
A school in Renfrewshire has established a joint assessment team, which meets on a monthly basis to coincide with a visit from the educational psychologist. The meetings are also attended by the home-school teacher, school nurse, speech and language therapy, network teacher, the school's support for learning teacher and relevant classroom teachers. As a result of the ring-fenced meeting time, attendance has been raised and those involved report that the lists of children being discussed, who are all referred by their class teachers, have been decreasing as interventions begin to take effect. It has also been reported that classroom discipline has improved as teachers begin to adopt strategies recommended by the various professionals involved. For further information email: s.middleton@tga.org.uk.
Interagency framework provides co-ordinated support for children with complex needs
The Moray Interagency Development and Assessment Service ( MIDAS) provides a multi-disciplinary team approach to help pre-school age children with additional support needs. A child can be referred to the service by any professional working with them, most commonly the health visitor. On referral, the MIDAS team identify all professionals involved with the child. The nominated team leader for the family and child do a home visit to carry out the initial assessment. All professionals then attend a meeting with the parents at a venue of their choice, most commonly a nursery or pre-school provider, rather than a normal meeting room. This is particularly important in rural areas like Moray where a number of parents do not have the means to travel. The purpose of the meeting is to clarify what parents want MIDAS to achieve for their child, and then in more detail what action is required to achieve it. A recent meeting involved a dietician, health visitor, paediatrician, occupational therapist, speech and language therapist, playleader at the child's nursery and an educational psychologist. A co-ordinated plan of support for the child is devised and agreed by all involved. For further information email ASLAct@scotland.gsi.gov.uk quoting ref: ISdoc6.pdf.
Smaller 'feedback meeting' improves information sharing with parents
Concerned that parents were being discouraged from getting involved in discussions about their child's support needs because they were anxious about attending large multi-disciplinary meetings, one local authority devised an alternative. Parents are now given the option of attending a smaller feedback meeting instead with two familiar adults, including the child's support worker. Feedback from both parents and professionals has been positive. Parents said they felt less anxious and therefore more positive about the work being done to support their child and staff said parents were more likely to contribute in the smaller meetings. The support workers in particular reported more meaningful discussions with parents in these smaller meetings.
Individual school takes steps to ensure parents are informed about the Act
A South Lanarkshire primary school has taken the following steps to disseminate information to parents on the Additional Support for Learning Act:
- Prior to the new legislation's introduction, staff discussed its implications with parents at a variety of meetings. For example, the implications for individual children were discussed at their annual review meetings.
- To reach the wider school community a presentation was included as part of the school's general information evening, which is well attended.
- The school discusses how to continue meeting children's needs in accordance with additional support needs legislation at ongoing individual review meetings.
- If parents are unable to attend these meetings in school, reports and views from all involved with the child are collated and a home visit from the educational psychologist and deputy head teacher is offered.
- Details of Individual Educational Plans are discussed at individual parent appointments.
Advocate facilitates communication between looked-after pupil and school
A school has brought in an advocate to work with a pupil who is autistic, has emotional and behavioural difficulties and is a looked-after child living in residential care. He was just about to start at the school and with a history of non-attendance at his previous school, staff were concerned about his ability to settle in. The advocate spent informal time with the pupil to find out what he thought about his accommodation, new school and the kind of support he might need. A multi-agency meeting was held involving unit staff, his social worker, his teacher, headteacher, psychiatrist, a practice nurse and his parents to ensure that everyone involved understood what his issues were, what problems might arise and everyone's roles in providing the necessary support. The advocate maintained regular contact with the pupil and all professionals involved, keeping them updated with news of progress and any concerns. She also ensured the pupil's views and concerns, which changed overtime, were fed back. Feedback has been positive. The pupil has settled in well and any difficulties were "nipped in the bud". Although he chose not to attend initial meetings he began to attend school reviews after a few months. For further information on the advocacy service used in this case visit www.partnersinadvocacy.org.uk
Intranet improves information-sharing about pupils between school staff
To improve information-sharing about individual pupils between staff at a school, pupil profile sheets for those identified as having additional support needs, have been put on the school intranet. The profiles, accessed by staff with passwords, hold details on the child under the headings 'Difficulties', 'Strengths', 'Needs' and 'Success strategies'. All parents are shown the profile and give permission for access to be shared. To obtain a sample profile email ASLAct@scotland.gsi.gov.uk quoting ref: ISdoc3.pdf.
Clinical notes merged to improve information-sharing
Dumfries and Galloway NHS have decided to merge the clinical notes of children receiving both occupational therapy and physiotherapy to enable easier sharing of information and provide a more compact, usable system. The files are all kept in one place and there is a tracking system whereby if a therapist takes a child's file out there is a note kept in the space noting who has the file and when it will be returned. Those involved said the initiative continues to work well and has resulted in information being collated much more quickly.
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