Roles_and_Responsibilities_Overview_of_Educational_Professionals_in_School

A2 ROLES AND RESPOSIBILITIES TASK 2 Overview of educational professionals in school Visual Impairment (VI) They register and assess people who have been identified as having a significant sight loss. In addition, the Visual Impairment Service offer advice, support and training in daily living, independence and mobility. They also offer advice on a wide range of equipment for people with visual impairment. They aim to support people with poor sight to use their remaining vision and other senses as effectively as possible. A functional assessment is made of the pupils needs and support is allocated accordingly. Support sessions, from teaching and learning assistants, can take place in the home, in the classroom or by withdrawing pupils to a quiet room to work on specific tasks. Other pupils may be monitored on a termly or yearly basis by a VI teacher. Through close liaison with teachers modified resources are provided in advance and specialised equipment is offered where appropriate. Physiotherapists Physiotherapist ensure that the children in their care get the best support to meet their physical needs, following programs to suit each individual child encouraging them to get the most out of their bodies with the use of various exercises including:- • dry land physiotherapy, • hydrotherapy, • rebound therapy and • group sessions, depending on the individual needs of the child and family. Physiotherapists are also involved with the orthotics service at the school and the provision of equipment such as standing frames, leg splints and walkers working closely with the class teams and other therapies and services and may also see the child in their home setting and the Children’s Centre. They devise individual therapy programmes which aim to suit the child’s needs which may take place at school and/or at home. The programmes will be delivered by the physiotherapist, the support staff, the classroom staff and or the parent/carers. Typically this could include periods of physiotherapy intervention followed by periods of consolidation incorporating the child’s programme both at home and in the classroom. Assessment will be at appropriate intervals for the child’s needs to help him/her reach their full potential.. Speech and Language specialists Are professionals educated in the study of human communication, its development, and its disorders. They assess speech, language, cognitive-communication, and oral/feeding/swallowing skills to identify types of communication problems (articulation; fluency; voice; receptive and expressive language disorders, etc.) and the best way to treat them. Occupational Therapists The role of the occupational therapist is to enable children to function to the best of their ability across areas of self care, productivity (school) and leisure (play). The OTs will work closely with the child or young person, parents and teachers to develop practical approaches and find solutions to help them get the most from life, whether at school or in the community. • OTs help by finding out which occupations the child/ young person is having difficulty with, and then: • Help the child/ young person develop the skills they need to do everyday things. • Teach the child/ young person, parents or other adults’ new ways of doing things to make them easier and safer. • Recommend equipment to help make things easier and safer. Hearing Impairment The Hearing Impaired Support Service is an educational service hosted by Torfaen, but covering the five boroughs of Torfaen, Monmouthshire, Newport, Blaenau Gwent and Caerphilly. The Service is based in Cwmbran. The Service provides support, advice and training to schools, parents and early year’s settings. Working in Special Schools, Mainstream Schools and Hearing Impaired Resource bases with children and young people with hearing impairments and auditory processing difficulties. Working a individuals from birth to nineteen years of age. After referral, a member of the advisory team will offer a home visit to parents and then go into the school to see the pupil and decide on appropriate support. This may take the form of monitoring or support sessions working either in class or on a withdrawal basis. If the child is pre-school they will visit and support at the family home. A member of the hearing impairment staff visits Trinity Fields approximately once a fortnight but will attend the school anytime if any problems arise with any of the pupils. Hearing aids are checked, cleaned and basic maintenance carried out. The Service also provides radio aids if appropriate and can also provide sound field amplification systems. Advice and support is given to staff and contact with parents occurs as and when is necessary. Staff are also available to deliver deaf awareness training. Nursing Staff Supporting the health needs of the children whilst at school, working alongside education staff and Therapy Services to ensure these needs are met. We also liaise closely with our colleagues in the Community Children's Nursing Team • Community Paediatrician. • Dietetic Clinic. • Vision Screening. • Audiology Screening. • Enteral Feeding. to ensure continuity of care between home and school. Educational psychologists Using Psychology they understand how children develop and learn, as well as how they may think feel and behave. Working with children and young people so that they can be successful with their learning, in their own schools, alongside their peers also working with teachers and parents / carers to identify and help overcome problems with children’s learning, development or behaviour. Gathering information with pupils, parents and teachers to help solve problems, working directly with the pupil and teacher within the classroom, and tracking the progress of the pupils throughout Sensory the purpose of sensory is to assist in educating an individual which may be multi-sensory impaired a sense of the world around them, to involve them in everyday activities from class based with sensory stories with associated equipment using light, sound, smell, taste and physical items for touching to assist the story, moving around and understanding their environment