SP in Schools project 2017 Low Res V2

Ownership of files and student information

materials required. Speech pathology services within a school require a budget including the following: • salaries and on-costs; • administrative costs, (e.g. travel, postage, telephone); • professional development; • educational materials for students, (e.g. photocopying); • purchasing and maintaining specialist materials, (e.g. original assessments and forms, software/ on-line resources); and • operational costs, (e.g. utilities, cleaning). Some of these resources will need to be provided directly by a school and some by yourself (if you are sub-contracting into the school) or they may all be provided by the school if you are employed directly. This will need to be discussed before you begin work. In each school where speech pathology services are provided, you will require an appropriate quiet, private room for some specific speech pathology activities. Access to up to date specialised assessments and intervention equipment and tests is essential for evidence- based practice. Principals have been advised to consider how these resources will be provided in situations where they directly employ you or if they have chosen to use you as an independent contractor. This should be discussed at the interview stage (either for an employee or contractor) to ensure that you and the principal have a shared understanding of what is needed and who will provide it.

It is recommended that you formally clarify the situation regarding ownership and responsibility of files in every school that you work in (either as an employee or as a contractor) and have this written into the contract. Generally, when you as a health service provider creates a file, you are the owner of that record. However, the ownership of records can also be affected by the contractual arrangements between you and the school. Parents need to know where their child’s information is being stored and who has access to it. Administrative and program delivery support Like other educational staff, you will require support for administrative duties including answering phone calls, taking messages, recordkeeping, data collection and the preparation of materials for programs and in- service provided by the school. The organisation of parent meetings and obtaining consent to work with students is another duty to be negotiated when you are negotiating your contract. Depending on the purpose of your speech pathology service in the school, it is likely that you will need to ensure that processes for collaborative program planning with teachers is established. This may include negotiation of teacher release time so that you and the teachers can work together. Retention of Files

Contracting a speech pathologist

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Speech Pathology Australia: Speech Pathology in Schools Project