Children doing their online therapy sessions at school can be useful for a few reasons; one being that their home environment might mean that after school sessions are difficult to arrange, another being that they may be experiencing more difficulties at school and therefore having sessions at school is more appropriate.
It is up to the school as to whether they will allow or accommodate sessions to occur at school. For younger students or students with attention difficulties it may also require a staff member to sit with them during the session, which can at times be difficult for a school, particularly during this time of COVID when schools have ongoing staffing challenges.
Supplying a computer or tablet may also be difficult for the school.
Here are some options to consider to ensure school sessions are possible and successful:
- Talk to your child’s teachers to make sure they are onboard with the plan before requesting that sessions are booked in. Find out who will be setting your child up for sessions and who needs to receive appointment confirmations and reminders.
- Consider hiring a support worker to attend the school sessions with your NDIS funding so that the school doesn’t need to provide a staff member
- Consider giving your child a tablet to take to school for their sessions – you can ask for a letter to purchase a tablet with your funding
- Remember that if the session is cancelled with less than 24 hours notice you will be charged a late cancellation fee. This includes if the cancellation was due to the school not having a staff member available for the session, or the usual staff member being away.
- If your child is unwell or will not be attending school contact us so that we can cancel the sessions. Schools may not always let us know if a child is away, and then you may be charged a late cancellation fee.
- If you want to see what is happening during the school sessions you can ask the therapist to record some sessions for you to watch at home.
- Consider alternating sessions at school with sessions at home so that you can develop strategies with the therapist for both home and school environments.
To find out more about arranging school-based therapy sessions please contact us.