Working with NSW Health
Coordination of Information Exchange:
The NSW Department of Education (SCH School) contributes psychosocial information in Sydney Children’s Hospital Multidisciplinary Team Meetings. Under Chapter 16a in the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998, the safety, welfare, and wellbeing of a child or young person take precedence over individual privacy rights. This chapter empowers prescribed bodies to share relevant information collaboratively for the benefit of the child or young person.
During enrollment, information exchange between health and education is explained to parents/caregivers. Consent is not required if the shared information is deemed necessary for SCHS to safely and effectively care for and educate the young person.
The Exchange of Information Health & Education FACTSHEET, outlines that information related to the safety, welfare, or wellbeing of a child or young person may be provided upon request or proactively shared between agencies to make decisions, assessments, plans, provide services, or manage risks to the child or young person.
Sydney Children’s Hospital Multidisciplinary Team Meetings - Student Journey:
A Multidisciplinary Team Meeting (MDT) is a collaborative approach to decision-making and problem-solving that involves professionals from various disciplines working together to assess, plan, and provide integrated services for individuals with complex needs. This team-based approach ensures a comprehensive understanding of an individual's situation and facilitates a coordinated response to address diverse aspects of their care.
Hospitals are a valued place of health care, within which education supports normalised and remedial patient care for school aged children. The endorsed authority for all required health care is NSW Health and the endorsed authority (NESA) for all required education is the NSW Department of Education. SCHS executive and LST structure attendance at SCHN MDTs leverage the opportunities that both agencies can provide when working closely together.
The Leadership and Learning & Support Team members attend MDT meetings and faciliate links with census schools to establish shared goals for student care and development across education, leveraging opportunities for collaboration between health and education. SCHS staff represent the NSW Department of Education, upholding policy and providing expert advice on education adjustment. These role work with the Principal to implement the Learning and Support Framework and facilitates coordinated health and education planning. The core focus of the role is to support and implement our School's learning and support data, systems and practices and to support the implementation of the DoE commitment to find better ways of ensuring that we meet the additional learning and support needs of every student in every school.
At SCHS all students would be considered to have additional educational support needs due to short or long term absenteeism from census schools, their health care needs and possible learning or behaviour support needs.
SCHS Learning and Support Team model and has responsibility for:
- attending multidisciplinary team meetings across the hospital and to provide educational updates on inpatients/students – current focus oncology and BIRT
- working with allied health/multidisciplinary teams when additional educational support to is needed, especially during student transitions
- working with SCHS teachers and support principal to coordinate with Clinical Nurse Consultants, Ronald McDonald Learning Program, Back On Track and other services to avoid overlap of services to families and census schools
- supporting SCHS teachers with educational planning and when relevant supporting school communication with families and census schools
Working with Education Support Services Within the Hospital:
The Oncology LST : colloborating with educational support services for students receiving treatment through the oncology department at Sydney Childrens Hospital, Randwick. These services work collaboratively through the Oncology Learning Support Team (LST) to identify student educational needs and provide the best coordinated service approach to support students receiving treatment through inpatients and outpatient programs and their siblings.
Sydney Childrens Hospital School leads the education program and planning for all inpaitent and outpaitent enrolled students.
NB: Learning and Support Framework for all NSW public schools. Establishing this framework in every school will provide an important foundation for the delivery of educational services into the future.