Family Needs • Individual Family Service Plans • Home Based Program • Inclusion Support • Preschool Preparation Program • Communication Program • ECI General Referral Form
Koorana
provides early intervention for children with additional needs through
the following services:
•
Home Based Early Learning Program
•
Pre School Preparation Program
•
Support for children with additional needs enrolled
in the
•
Phillip Street and Croydon Street Preschools
•
Communication Program
In all of these services, Koorana’s aim is to work in partnership
with each family so that your individual family needs are addressed. You
will find more information about specific services on the linked pages.
Below is some general information relevant to all Koorana’s Early
Intervention services.
Meeting
Family Needs
Under the Disability Services Act,
[link]
all funded services are required to conform to ten essential standards
to ensure that family needs are met. These standards are related to service
access and equity, individual need and family focus, decision making,
choice and involvement, privacy and confidentiality, complaints handling,
service management and protection. Koorana has a specific policy related
to each of these standards.
Click here to see Koorana’s policies relating to the Disability Services
Act.
To best respond to the needs and priorities of families, Koorana follows
the principles of family-centred practice. Your concerns, as a
family, are the starting point for all our work in partnership with you.
We develop an Individual Family Service Plan
(IFSP) for each family, which sets out what you would like
to achieve and how we will work together over the coming months.
Individual Family Service Plans
When a child has additional needs, there can be decisions to make over
and above the usual parenting decisions. People outside the family may
also become involved in the decision making process – for example
doctors, early intervention teachers, therapists and preschool teachers.
Individual Family Service Plans (IFSPs) are a way to coordinate the process
of making decisions and ensuring that everyone involved works as team
to carry those decisions through.
While professionals are usually involved, the family is at the centre
of the IFSP process. Families have the right to make decisions for themselves
and their child. The role of professionals is to provide information which
supports families in their decision making, and then provide services
in ways which reflect families’ priorities.
While the IFSP process is on-going, with decisions made as needed in response
to progress and change, it is usual to have meetings from time to time.
Meetings allow everyone involved to talk face to face, and help to build
a sense of teamwork. It is up to the family to decide whether or not they
would like to have a meeting. Families can either organise the meeting
themselves, or delegate this task to someone else. Koorana organises many
IFSP meetings on behalf of families, and is very happy to do so. Families
let us know whom they would like to invite to the meeting. We aim to be
flexible about times and dates, but have some limitations here. If your
family does not want to have a meeting, we still work with you towards
an individual plan.
IFSP meetings usually begin with some discussion about recent progress
and achievement, and then move on to consider the family’s concerns
and priorities at this point of time. These priorities form the agenda
for the rest of the meeting. Concerns may not be limited to the child’s
development: many families have broader issues with which they need support.
Often, the IFSP meeting decides on the most important goals for the coming
months, and then the child’s individual program is worked out in
finer detail at a later date.
IFSP meetings are always documented, with copies going to everyone who
attends.
Family
Services
Koorana employs Family Workers to provide information and support to all
families who are enrolled in any of Koorana’s services, including
those families who have a child with additional needs. Family Workers
can provide information about other services and resources in the community,
and can talk with you about some of the worries and concerns that families
face when a child has additional needs.
To contact the Family Worker, phone (02) 9758-2666 or email familyservices@koorana.org.au.
Families who participate in Koorana preschools and/or early intervention
programs can also receive assistance through the Service Coordination
project. This service is available to families throughout Sydney’s
Inner West, not just to Koorana families, and there is a separate registration
process. Click here if you would like more information about Service Coordination.
Home Based Early Learning Program
Koorana’s Home Based Early Learning Program offers the services of
a Special Educator to visit families at home. During these visits,
the Special Educator and parent or carer talk about the family’s
concerns. An individual program is developed, focussing on strengths as
well as needs.
Programs are practical, taking account of family dynamics and the factors
that impose on their time. For example, a program developed where there
is just one child and lots of support from the extended family may be
very different to a program where there are several young children and
a single or isolated parent. Time is spent talking through everyday routines
to find ways of making things easier for everybody, and ways to create
opportunities for learning. Where play activities are suggested, these
are designed to be enjoyable for children and parents.
Families participating in the Home Based Service can also participate
in Koorana’s Communication Program. This program provides
specialised input in the areas of:
•
communication (including speech and language development),
•
social interaction, and
•
feeding issues.
If families receive the specialised services of a physiotherapist, occupational
therapist or speech pathologist from another agency, the Home Based Special
Educator works with the family to help them make the most of their input.
With family permission, staff from Koorana and other agencies can work
together as a team to support the family.
Families are very welcome to participate in other Koorana activities and
events, including T-Club and Supported Playgroups,
where they can meet other parents and staff, including Family
Workers.
Contacting
us
The Home Based Early Learning Program is based at Koorana’s Head
Office:
1a
Cleary Avenue,
Belmore NSW 2192
Please
address any mail to:
Koorana Child and Family Centre
PO Box 403,
BELMORE NSW 2192
The phone number is (02)
9758 2666. If this number doesn’t answer and you need to contact
your Home Based teacher or therapist urgently, please phone (02) 9750-4100.
Inclusion Support
Children entering Preschool differ in their strengths, needs and patterns
of development. Some children have had no prior experience of being away
from their parents. Some are encountering English for the first time.
Many children at preschool can benefit from additional support to help
them participate and learn. To provide this support Koorana employs an
additional teacher in each preschool, enabling more opportunities for
interaction with all the children. Special Educators and a Speech Pathologist
also support the preschool staff where a child has a disability or delay
in development.
Some of the children who are supported at Preschool in this way have participated
in Koorana’s Home Based and/or Preschool Preparation programs, and
their teachers from these programs can help them to settle in. For others,
this is their first contact with Koorana. Either way, the preschool teams
value parents’ input as they get to know each child.
Koorana’s Inclusion Support teachers work with the preschool
teams to ensure that each child participates as actively as possible.
The Inclusion Support Teacher is involved in developing each child’s
individual program and provides resources and training to enable all staff
to work in an inclusive way.
Children with particular needs in language can access Koorana’s Communication
Program. The Speech Pathologist works with families and teachers to develop
individual goals and strategies, and has regular contact with the children
within the preschool setting.
Preschool is primarily a group experience, where children learn to share
adults’ attention and to play with their peers. Staff members aim
to keep children with additional needs involved with the group as much
as possible. Play skills, thinking skills, language skills and motor skills
are developed through normal preschool play activities and routines, and
where adaptations are needed to suit a particular child – for example,
the use of signing where a child has a language delay – all children
are encouraged to participate.
Families are involved in the development of children’s individual
education and therapy programs. They are also invited to participate in
developing an Individual Family Service Plan.
If the child will be going to school in the following year, families often
find it helpful to have a School Transition Plan. Staff can support families
through the process of choosing a school, planning experiences to prepare
the child for school and exchanging information with school staff.
Information and discussion sessions are arranged each year on topics of
interest to parents. As well as offering information, these sessions give
parents a chance to get to know each other. Families of preschool children
who have additional needs are welcome to come along to T Club get togethers,
as well as the informal Morning Teas for all preschool families. Koorana’s
Family Workers are available to assist with
information regarding any broader concerns or issues facing the family.
Contacting us
Parents who are seeking a preschool placement for a child with additional
needs can phone (02)9758-2666 or email earlyintervention@koorana.org.au
for more information.
Pre School Preparation Program
Koorana’s Pre School Preparation Program (‘Prep’) is a
service for children who can benefit from a specialised centre-based program
as a preparation for preschool or school.
Children participate in group sessions twice a week, involving up to eight
children. The Program aims to develop each child’s skills, especially
in ways that will help them to participate in inclusive childcare or preschool
settings.
The Prep program is staffed by Early Childhood educators with training
and experience in special education. A Speech Pathologist joins the group
once a week. A Family Worker also participates
in many Prep activities.
Each session includes:
•
opportunities to develop communication skills,
•
table and floor activities to develop hand skills and thinking skills,
•
group music and movement activities,
•
sensory play experiences,
•
free play and time to relax,
•
outdoor play, together with the preschool children,
•
morning tea and lunch in a group setting.
The sessions are relatively structured and run to a regular routine so
that children can quickly gain confidence and feel comfortable within
the environment. Parents are very welcome to spend time in the room at
drop-off and pick-up times.
The program includes many opportunities to interact with children in the
larger preschool group. These opportunities usually happen outside at
first, with shared outdoor play times. As the year goes on, the Special
Educators plan opportunities to support the children in an increasing
range of activities with the larger group.
Working closely with the family is an essential component of the Prep
program. An Individual Family Support Plan is developed in collaboration
with each family. Most families opt to have IFSP meetings twice a year,
or more often if needed.
Communication Program
The Koorana Communication Program can be accessed by children participating
in the Home Based, Prep or Preschool programs. All the Koorana programs
are very much communication driven, and all teaching staff have skills
in providing language rich environments, encouraging children to communicate,
and using signs and visual communication supports. As well as focussing
on individual children for whom communication is a priority, Koorana’s
Speech Pathologists provide training and support to other staff, thus
benefiting all children.
The role that the Speech Pathologist plays with a child and family will
vary, depending on:
•
the child’s level of need,
•
whether the child is receiving speech pathology services from another
agency, and
•
the family’s current priorities for the child child,
as well as practical considerations. The services offered can include:
•
assessment and development of individual goals and strategies,
•
individual sessions at home or at the centre, either ongoing or for a
block of ten weeks,
•
small group sessions at the centre, which may include other children with
language needs
•
and/or typically developing children who can provide good models,
•
parent training courses,
•
staff training and resourcing,
•
providing information for other agencies as needed, eg when A child is
making the
•
transition to school.
Please click here for links to communication
resources on the web.
Contacting us
For more information about the Communication Program, please phone (02)9758-2666
or email earlyintervention@koorana.org.au.
