Is extra resourcing available to support DECS school students who are not continent?
Additional resourcing is generally provided based on a reasonable assessment of the hours of work required to undertake the additional tasks. The difficulty with toileting support is that often the work does not happen at routine times. Some schools allocate a couple of the additional SSO hours to another SSO who can be called away from other duties as required; others identify other SSOs who can add this to their duties and share the times when the identified SSO is not there. SSOs can either undertake the continence care support or observe the class while the teacher assists the student: The teacher (or one nearby) retains duty of care (although not necessarily ‘line of sight’). You can always ‘buy in’ a service, but again, the unpredictability of the work really means that the only reliable solution lies within on-site staffing. Further information is available from the DECS guidelines Personal care support planning (PDF).
Related Questions
- What special support services are available to assist students who have been away from school for a while and have a job and/or family responsibilities at the same time as they are attending college?
- What assistance is offered to students who need extra academic support?
- Why is it important for ELLs to receive extra support in school?
