NDIS Funded Therapy in Schools

Policy

The purpose of this policy is to explain how schools can support students who receive National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funded therapy.

Summary

• Schools are encouraged to support students and their parents in exercising a level of choice and control with their National Disability Insurance Scheme supports at school where it is safe and practical to do so.
• The Department has produced guidelines for Victorian Government schools related to requests for the delivery of funded therapy in schools.
• Ultimately, the decision to allow funded therapists to conduct therapy on school grounds rests with the principal.
• The therapies funded by the National Disability Insurance Scheme are related to the student’s functional whole-of-life support needs, and not for educational purposes. The responsibility for therapy for educational attainment remains with the education system. On this basis, schools should continue to employ therapists and access therapy from Student Support Services to provide educational supports.

Details

Background

The NDIS provides Australians under the age of 65 who have a permanent and significant disability with the reasonable and necessary supports to participate in the community and achieve their goals.

Funding is allocated to the person (with their family, carer or advocate) who can choose who they will purchase services from and when, where and how they receive services. Eligibility is focused on lifelong, functional impairment.

The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) administers the NDIS. For more information about the NDIS, visit the National Disability Insurance Scheme website.

The NDIS does not fund services that are reasonable and necessary for children to participate in education. These remain the responsibility of the department.

The NDIS replaces the department’s Early Childhood Intervention Services (ECIS) program. The NDIS Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) approach supports children with disability or developmental delay from birth until 7 years of age.

School age children may receive funding for non-educational therapy through the NDIS. The department has developed Guidelines for principals (on the Guidance tab) on whether this therapy may be delivered at schools.

NDIS requirements for restrictive practices do not apply to schools. Schools must comply with the Restraint and Seclusion policy.

The NDIS and funded therapy for students

The NDIS provides increased choice and control for children with disabilities and their families on how disability services and supports are delivered.

As a result, school principals may receive parent requests to allow NDIS funded therapists to:

• observe a student in the classroom or in the school environment
• attend a Student Support Group meeting to monitor and tailor the support provided to the student.

These requests can generally be accommodated by schools and complement holistic student planning and support processes.

Funded therapy on school grounds

Principals may also receive requests for NDIS funded therapists to deliver therapy on school grounds.

The department is committed to supporting NDIS participants and their families to optimise the benefits offered by the NDIS. Consistent with this commitment, Victorian Government schools are encouraged to accommodate students and their parents exercising choice and control in relation to NDIS supports.

On this basis, requests for NDIS funded therapy to be delivered at school should be approved unless the specific circumstances raise practical, legal and/or educational issues that make the approval of the request unfeasible or unreasonable.

When deciding whether to approve a request for NDIS funded therapy in schools, principals should consider a variety of factors including:

• individual circumstances of the student
• student access to the curriculum
• Child Safe Standards and duty of care
• practical and administrative capacity
• anti-discrimination obligations.

Principals should refer to the Guidance tab for detailed guidance on these factors, and for procedures that need to be followed when approving applications for NDIS funded therapy to occur on school grounds.

Ultimately, the decision rests with the school principal.

The NDIS will fund a range of specialised supports for school-aged children with a disability. However, critically, the NDIS does not:

• replace or duplicate the responsibilities of the education system
• fund therapy for the purpose of enabling a student to access their education.

In accordance with relevant anti-discrimination laws:

• Schools remain responsible for providing ‘reasonable adjustments’ to ensure that students with disabilities are able to access their education on the same basis as their peers.
• Schools are legally obliged to provide these reasonable adjustments, regardless of whether or not a student is also receiving NDIS support.

For further information refer to Students with Disability.

There is no legal obligation on principals to approve a request for NDIS funded therapy. This is because NDIS funded therapy is generally not required to enable the student to access their education.

The department’s Guidelines on responding to requests for NDIS funded therapy in schools can be accessed on the Guidance tab.

Related policies

• Students with Disability
• Restraint and Seclusion

Relevant legislation

• Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth)
• Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic)
• National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (Cth)
• Victorian Charter of Rights of Rights and Responsibilities (Vic)

Responding to Requests for NDIS Funded Therapy in Schools — Guidelines for Principals

This guidance contains the following chapters:

• Overview
• Background
• Key considerations
• Step 1 – Request information
• Step 2 – Make a decision
• Step 3 – Practical arrangements
• Definitions

Overview

Purpose

The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) provides increased choice and control to participants and their families on how disability services and supports are delivered. As a result, principals may receive parent/guardian/carer requests to allow NDIS funded therapists to:

• observe a student in the classroom or in the school environment
• attend a Student Support Group meeting, to monitor and tailor the support provided to the student.

These requests can generally be accommodated by schools and complement holistic student planning and support processes. The sharing of information and insights about student strengths and areas of development can provide valuable and mutual benefits to all parties.

Principals may also receive requests for NDIS funded therapists to deliver ongoing therapy at school. These guidelines have been prepared to assist principals in responding to these requests.

Department of Education and Training (Department) Position

The Department is committed to supporting NDIS participants, and their families, to optimise the benefits offered by the NDIS. Consistent with this commitment, Victorian Government schools are encouraged to accommodate students and their parent(s) exercising choice and control in relation to NDIS supports.

On this basis, requests for NDIS funded therapy to be delivered at school should be approved unless the specific circumstances raise practical, legal and/or educational issues that make the approval of the request unfeasible or unreasonable.

The purpose of these Guidelines is therefore to assist principals to deal with each request by:

• recommending a consistent 3 step process to follow
• highlighting key considerations that a principal must take into account when making a decision
• providing templates for liaising with all relevant parties and establishing practical arrangements.

The Department has designed a three step process to assist principals in finalising their response to therapy requests on a case by case basis.

Step 1 – Gather information

The principal asks the therapist and parent(s) about the therapy proposed to be provided at school, and the reasons for this request (refer to: Step 1 – Request information).

Step 2 – Make and communicate decision

The principal considers the request in light of all relevant factors and makes a decision as to whether the therapy can be provided on school grounds. This decision is communicated to the therapist and parent(s) (refer to: Key Considerations and Step 2 – Make a decision).

Step 3 – Practical arrangements

If the principal approves the therapy to be provided at school, appropriate arrangements are put in place. This includes ensuring relevant forms and agreements are completed by the therapist (refer to: Step 3 – Practical arrangements).

Background

This Background section aims to provide principals with an understanding of why their school may be experiencing an increase in requests for NDIS funded therapists to provide therapy on school grounds. It outlines some of the opportunities the NDIS offers to school-aged participants to enable them to achieve their goals.

Terminology used throughout this guidance is defined under the Definitions chapter.

Introduction to the National Disability Insurance Scheme

The NDIS is the most significant social policy and funding reform in Australia since the introduction of Medicare in 1975. It is a Commonwealth Government scheme that aims to provide eligible persons with significant and permanent disability (known as ‘participants’ of the scheme) with greater choice and control over how and by whom their disability supports are delivered. It is a whole of life approach to the support needed to help a person to participate in the community and achieve their goals. The Commonwealth Government has established the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA), to administer and deliver the NDIS.

To access the NDIS and become a ‘participant’ in the scheme, a person must meet a number of legislated residency, age and disability criteria. The person must:

• be under 65 years of age and
• live in Australia, be an Australian citizen, a permanent resident, or hold a Protected Special Category Visa and
• have an impairment or condition that is likely to be permanent (lifelong) and that provision of early intervention supports for the person is likely to benefit the person by reducing the person’s future needs for support in relation to the disability or
• be a child under 6 years of age with a disability or developmental delay and the delay means the child usually needs more help with self-care, communication, learning or motor skills than another child of the same age.

The NDIS operates under an entitlement system. Once NDIS eligibility has been determined, each participant creates an NDIS plan with the help of NDIA planners or Local Area Coordinator (LAC) partners. Funding is provided for a range of ‘reasonable and necessary supports’. A plan will include informal, mainstream and community supports as well as the supports to be funded by the NDIS.

NDIS plan

The NDIS plan enables participants to have greater choice and control over what, when, where and by whom most of their disability support is provided.

The pathway for a school-aged participant to build their NDIS plan typically involves the following stages:

1. Students, with their parent(s), create a participant statement with broad goals they want to achieve to increase their independence, inclusion, and social and economic participation.
2. Once goals have been developed, students meet with NDIA planners or LAC partners to determine reasonable and necessary supports to help them achieve these goals. These supports may include therapy to build capacity in areas such as mobility or speech and language development.
3. Supports that are deemed reasonable and necessary are funded under the NDIS.
4. For most participants, after 12 months an annual review occurs with the NDIA planner. At the plan review stage, the student’s progress towards their goals and outcomes are measured which may involve a change to the reasonable and necessary funded supports in their plan.

Students, parent(s), or carer may provide a copy of a student’s NDIS plan to complement holistic student planning. However, it is important to note that students are not compelled to share their NDIS plans with schools.

Therapy in schools

Therapy to enable access to education

If therapy is considered to be a reasonable adjustment that is required for a student to access their education, the school is legally obliged to provide the student with access to this therapy. On this basis, schools should ensure therapists are available to provide educational supports to students. Such therapists may also be accessed from Student Support Services.

NDIS funded therapy

The therapies funded by the NDIS are related to the participant’s functional whole of life support needs, and not for educational purposes.

The NDIS works as a social insurance scheme. As such, if the NDIA decides (after consideration of relevant evidence, such as special reports, assessments and advice from the student’s parents) that a particular therapy is a ‘reasonable and necessary’ support for the student, the NDIS is obliged to fund that support as part of the student’s NDIS plan.

Participant ‘choice and control’ is a key benefit of the NDIS, which means participants and their parent(s):

• have greater choice and control over how and by whom NDIS funded supports are delivered and
• can choose how their NDIS plan will be managed. They can choose to self-manage the funds, have the funds managed by a financial intermediary, or have the funds managed by the NDIA. They can also opt for a combination of these methods. Payment to providers for supports are made through the NDIA’s portal system.

As a result of the emphasis on choice and control under the NDIS, schools have seen an increase in the number of parent(s) seeking approval to have NDIS funded supports for students delivered in schools.

Refer to: Principles to determine the responsibilities of the NDIS and other service systems (PDF) for further guidance on what the NDIS will and won’t fund in schools.

Key considerations

These key considerations should be assessed by principals when deciding to grant or refuse each individual therapy request. Each request must be tested on its individual merits. It is therefore not recommended for schools to develop a school policy based on these considerations as a ‘blanket rule’ that allows or disallows all requests for therapy in schools.

Individual circumstances of student

The overall benefit to the student is a driving consideration. Any inherent convenience to therapists or parents in having therapy delivered during school hours should be secondary to the student’s best interest.

In making a decision, principals should consider all relevant factors, including the particular family and social circumstances of the student, and the flexibility of the student’s learning program. For example, a student who fatigues as a result of their disability may benefit from receiving therapy during school hours, rather than after hours.

A student’s family circumstances may also preclude the therapy being delivered outside of school hours, or in another location. This was the case in the following example from the Barwon Area.

A student’s domestic situation meant that it was unsafe for the therapist to deliver therapy in the student’s home, and the student did not have adequate means to get to an external location to receive the therapy. The school had physical space available and accepted the therapy request under the unique circumstances.

Student access to the curriculum

The principles underlying Government school education include universal access to education and free instruction in the learning areas in Schedule 1 of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic). In deciding whether it is reasonable for a student to access NDIS funded supports during school hours, principals should consider what impact this would have on the student’s access to curriculum, given the primary purpose of schooling is to provide educational programs to students during school hours.

Equally, a student’s access to curriculum may be improved by allowing therapy to occur during school hours. The following is a case example from the Barwon Area.

A student was living in a remote area and the commute to and from therapy was extensive. This meant the student was missing schooling due to the long commute and was arriving at school tired. In this scenario, the principal allowed the therapy to be delivered at school so the student could access more of the curriculum.

Principals must also consider the impact that an additional adult in the school learning environment may have on staff and access to the curriculum for other students. For example, if the requested therapy will occur in the classroom, this may disrupt the class or cause difficulties in the classroom teacher’s ability to deliver the lesson to the relevant student and other students.

Duty of care obligations

Child Safe Standards

The Child Safe Standards are minimum standards that apply to organisations (including schools) that provide services for children to help protect children from abuse.

The Child Safe Standards require schools to have strategies, policies and procedures in place to ensure the school is a child safe organisation. This includes having appropriate practices in place to reduce the risk of child abuse by new and existing personnel and having strategies to identify and reduce or remove risks of child abuse.

Schools should consider the Child Safe Standards when considering whether to agree to a request for an NDIS funded therapist to provide therapy on school grounds. In particular, this will include whether:

• the physical space at the school to be used by the therapist is a reasonably safe one
• if the proposed therapy will take place in a room isolated from other students, does the school have capacity to allocate an alternative space and an additional staff member to be present to supervise the therapy?

If the school does agree to a request for an NDIS funded therapist to provide therapy at school, the school needs to:

• be alert to adverse behavioural or other changes in the student that might be a symptom of abuse, or risk of abuse, whether generally or in connection with the therapy – schools must follow the Four Critical Actions (PDF) where there is an incident, disclosure or suspicion of child abuse
• inform the parent(s) about what they should do if they have concerns about their child’s welfare
• inform the therapist about the school’s policies and commitments regarding Child Safe Standards (including visitor policy, code of conduct, supervision arrangements and internal reporting arrangements)
• follow the Visitors in Schools Policy when interacting with the NDIS funded therapist.

Refer to Child Safe Standards for more information.

Duty of care

Principals, as delegates of the Minister for Education, have the right to permit and refuse entry of any person to Victorian Government school premises. As an NDIS funded therapist is not a Department or school council employee/contractor, and is not under the direction and control of the principal, principals must carefully consider whether the school can fulfil its duty of care obligations to the student.

Duty of care requires principals and teachers to take all reasonable steps to reduce the risk of any reasonably foreseeable harm to students. This might include:

• providing safe and suitable premises to students
• providing adequate supervision of students, for example through line of sight to the therapy session or an additional staff member present to supervise the therapy and
• ensuring the therapist holds a satisfactory Working with Children Check

The responsibility for duty of care remains with principals and teachers. This duty of care cannot be delegated to an external NDIS funded therapist.

If duty of care requirements are not met, there may be a legal risk to both the school and the Department.

Requests for therapy on school grounds outside of school hours

Outside of school hours, the ability of principals and teachers to supervise students (and therefore discharge their duty of care) is very limited. There is no requirement for the school to appoint staff to supervise NDIS funded therapy that is proposed to occur outside of school hours on school grounds.

In relation to requests for support outside of school hours, it is recommended that the school inform and confirm with parents in writing:

• that the therapy is not organised or managed by the school or the school council and is not a school activity and
• that school staff and the school council are not responsible for the supervision of students attending the therapy outside school supervision hours.

Principals maintain the right to decline a request for private therapy sessions to occur outside of school hours, particularly if there are concerns about the level of supervision a school can provide at these times.

In some circumstances, a principal may approve such a request, if an adult family member or carer agrees to be present at these sessions.

The NDIS funded therapist and the School Council should enter into a Licence Agreement and an Information Sharing Deed prior to the commencement of NDIS funded therapy. The Licence Agreement makes it clear that schools are not responsible for the supervision of students outside of school hours.

Reportable Conduct Scheme

From 1 July 2017, principals are required to bring all allegations of 'reportable conduct' by employees, contractors, volunteers, allied health staff and school council employees to the attention of the Department's Employee Conduct Branch. The branch will then report these allegations to the Commission for Children and Young People.

There is an allegation of 'reportable conduct' where a person has a reasonable belief that there has been:

• a sexual offence (even prior to criminal proceedings commencing), sexual misconduct or physical violence committed against, with or in the presence of a child
• behaviour causing significant emotional or psychological harm to a child
• significant neglect of a child or
• misconduct involving any of the above.

The Reportable Conduct Scheme extends to NDIS funded therapists. Principals should be aware of their reporting requirements under this scheme if they permit an NDIS funded therapist to enter onto school premises to deliver services for students.

Practical and administrative capacity

Schools need to ensure they have the practical capacity to accommodate NDIS funded therapists providing therapy to students on school grounds. This includes having the physical space available to accommodate the therapy, and ensuring the school is equipped to manage the increased administration that allowing therapy might entail. This is a key consideration for specialist schools with high numbers of NDIS participants.

Anti-discrimination obligations

Disability Discrimination Act (Commonwealth)

The NDIS will fund a range of specialised supports for school-aged children with a disability. However, critically, the NDIS does not replace or duplicate the responsibilities of the Department.

In accordance with relevant anti-discrimination laws, schools remain responsible for providing ‘reasonable adjustments’ to ensure that students with a disability are able to access their education on the same basis as their peers without a disability. Schools are legally obliged to provide these adjustments, regardless of whether or not a student is also receiving NDIS support or other funding (for example, Program for Students with Disability (PSD) funding).

Reasonable adjustments may include (but are not limited to):

• modifying programs, adapting curriculum delivery and assessment strategies
• providing ongoing consultancy support or professional learning and training for staff
• developing and implementing individual education plans, health support planning and behaviour support plans
• providing educational software, iPads, or other assistive technology
• modifying schools and classrooms to enable physical access to premises
• providing access to the regional Health Wellbeing and Inclusion Workforces.

The NDIS does not fund therapy for the purpose of enabling a student to access their education. A school’s legal obligation under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) is to ensure students with a disability can access their education on the same basis as their peers without a disability. This may include making ‘reasonable adjustments’ like those listed above.

However, there is no legal obligation on principals to approve a request for NDIS funded therapy. This is because NDIS funded therapy is generally not required to enable the student to access their education.

For questions regarding a school’s anti-discrimination obligations when deciding to grant or refuse a request for NDIS therapy, please contact Legal Division at legal.services@education.vic.gov.au

Charter of Human Rights (Vic)

The Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic) (Charter) requires public authorities to act compatibly with the Charter and give proper consideration to relevant human rights in making decisions. This obligation applies to decision makers involved in assessing requests for NDIS funded therapy in schools.

When assessing a therapy request, decision makers must turn their minds to the possible impact of the decision on the student’s human rights. Refer to Equal Opportunity and Human Rights – Students for more information.

For questions regarding the impact of the Charter on any decision to refuse a request for NDIS therapy, please contact Legal Division at legal.services@education.vic.gov.au

School council support

School council support is required for the Licence Agreement to use school premises, which must be signed before the NDIS funded therapy can commence at school. The Licence Agreement is set out in more detail in Step 3 – Practical arrangements and a template Licence Agreement is available on the Resources tab.

Refer to: Community Use of Schools – Hiring, Licensing and Community Joint Use Agreements for more information.

Step 1 – Request information

Principals should request information from both the NDIS funded therapist and the parent(s) of the student, as well as parent consent: refer to Request Form and Parent Consent Form (Word) (staff login required).

This information will enable principals to make transparent, consistent, and informed decisions, based on all relevant factors.

Request form

The principal should send the Request Form (Word) (staff login required) to the NDIS funded therapist when the request is made. The Request Form requires the NDIS funded therapist to provide all relevant information about their request, including:

• the purpose of the proposed therapy
• the proposed date and time that therapy will be performed
• the proposed duration and frequency of therapy
• the proposed aims and benefits of the therapy being provided at school and in school time
• proof of a satisfactory Working with Children Check for the therapist
• if the therapist is an NDIS registered practitioner:
  • most participants access services from NDIS registered providers who are required to get an NDIS Worker Screening clearance to deliver therapeutic supports, and comply with the NDIS Practice Standards and NDIS Code of Conduct. However self-managing participants can choose to employ unregistered providers who are not required to get an NDIS Worker Screening clearance. Schools should consider the increased risks associated with unregistered providers.
• copies of certificates of currency for the following insurances held by the therapist:
  • public liability insurance (principals should check that the certificate is current and is for a minimum sum per occurrence of $10 million)
  • professional indemnity insurance (principals should check that the certificate is current, with a reputable insurer, covers the professional services being provided, and is for no less than $5 million per any one event and in the aggregate).

The parent(s) of the student are encouraged to work with the NDIS funded therapist to complete the Request Form, so as to better outline the student’s individual situation and why the student or parent(s) are seeking to have the NDIS funded therapy delivered at the school.

Parent consent form

The Request Form attaches a Parent Consent Form (Word) (staff login required) that requires consent to the request and to the student’s personal and health information being provided to the school.

Any of the following people may sign the Parent Consent Form:

• a person with parental responsibility for “major long term issues” as defined in the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)
• a person authorised to make health decisions for the student under the Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic)
• an adult student
• an informal carer
• a mature minor.

When the principal receives the completed forms and any other relevant documents, the principal should consider the request in accordance with Step 2, outlined in the next chapter.

The principal should retain a copy of the Request Form and Parent Consent Form, and any documents relevant to the decision, securely on the student’s file, regardless of the decision.

Step 2 – Make a decision

To decide whether to approve an NDIS funded therapist request, principals should use the information provided by the therapist and parent(s) in the Request Form and Parent Consent form (Word) (login required), to consider all factors set out in the ‘Key Considerations’ section above. These questions are designed to guide deliberations.

Individual circumstances of student

• Has the therapist outlined clear therapy outcomes and aims in the request form?
• Has the request been made in the best interests of the student, or for the benefit of another party (for example, the working hours of the therapist)?
• Will the student be able to access necessary therapy if the request is declined?
• Will there be any significant adverse effects on the student if the therapy request is declined?

Child Safe Standards and duty of care

• Does the therapist have a satisfactory Working with Children Check?
• Is the request for therapy to occur during or after school supervision hours?

If the request is for therapy to occur during school supervision hours:

• Can the school provide a safe and suitable location for the therapy to take place in which a staff member has a line of sight to the therapy (for example, a corner of the classroom or in an adjunct room with a glass window)?
• If the proposed therapy will take place in a room isolated from other students, does the school have capacity to allocate an alternative space and an additional staff member to be present to supervise the therapy?

Reportable Conduct Scheme

• Are all staff members aware of their reporting requirements under the Reportable Conduct Scheme if an NDIS funded therapist is permitted to enter onto school premises to deliver services to students?

Student access to the curriculum

• Is the therapy time-dependent? For example, is the therapy a support that must take place during school hours?
• Has consideration been given to the student’s access to the curriculum or other key benefits of the educational program if they are withdrawn to receive NDIS funded therapy?
• Will the needs of other students in the class and the programs being run by teachers in the school not be disrupted by the proposed therapy?
• Does the student’s learning program have flexibility to accommodate therapy during school hours?

Practical and administrative capacity

• Does the school have available space to accommodate the therapy?
• Is the school equipped to deal with additional administration that allowing therapy might entail (in particular specialist schools with more NDIS participants)?
• Can the NDIS funded therapist and the school work together to share information and support the student to meet their goals?

Anti-discrimination obligations

• Does the school have ‘reasonable adjustments’ in place to ensure the student is able to access their education on the same basis as their peers without a disability?
• How will school supports and reasonable adjustments all continue regardless of the decision made?

Charter of Human Rights

• Has consideration been given to relevant human rights in assessing and deciding the request?

School Council support

• Have you consulted with School Council regarding a licence for NDIS funded therapy being delivered to students on school grounds?
• Has the school’s Child Safe Standards Risk Register been updated accordingly?

Finalising decision

The final decision should be made on a case-by-case basis, having regard to all relevant factors. However, to ensure decision making is transparent and consistent, principals should also consider how previous requests for NDIS funded therapy at the school have been treated.

If principals require further support or advice when considering requests for NDIS funded therapy to be provided on school grounds, they should contact their Senior Education Improvement Leader (SEIL) in the first instance, or if further advice is required contact the Inclusive Education Division at ndis@education.vic.gov.au

Communicating the decision

Regardless of the decision, principals must:

• document their consideration of the relevant factors listed on page 10, and keep a record of their decision and the Request Form (Word) (staff login required), on the relevant student’s file
• communicate the decision to the parent(s) and therapist, using the template letter to parents (Word) (staff login requried).

This template letter outlines reasons for the decision made by the principal. This is intended to promote transparency and consistency in decision making and increase communication between the school, parent(s) and practitioner so any potential negative communication can be minimised.

Dispute resolution

Schools should respond to any parent concerns and complaints regarding the decision in an effective and timely manner. To ensure that principals use a fair and proper process, it is important that you give parent(s) a chance to respond to your decision, and consider any additional information they provide.

The underlying premise of the Department’s complaints management policy is that parent concerns and complaints are best and most effectively managed at the school level. If the complaint remains unresolved after contact with the school, the complaint will be referred to the Department’s regional office. The Independent Office for School Dispute Resolution is the final step in the Department’s dispute resolution and complaints process. Refer to: Parent Complaints for more information.

If you require further information and support you can also contact your relevant Area team, including your Community Liaison Officer and SEIL.

Approving therapy

If the principal decides to approve the therapy request, Step 3 enables the principal to implement appropriate arrangements necessary to mitigate any risks associated with this arrangement. This includes ensuring that the relevant consent forms are signed and a licensing agreement is entered into with the relevant therapist.

Step 3 – Practical arrangements

If, after considering all relevant factors in Step 2, a principal decides to permit NDIS funded therapy to take place on school grounds, then schools must take the following 3 actions.

1 Meeting with the NDIS-funded therapist and parent(s)

Before the therapist commences at school, a meeting should occur between the school, the parent(s) of the student and the NDIS funded therapist. This meeting is referred to in the letter to the parent(s) that the principal will send at the conclusion of Step 2 – Make a decision.

This meeting will confirm the particular operational arrangements for the therapy including:

• the therapy goals and educational goals for the student, to promote a shared support and planning approach between the school and the therapist
• when, how often and where the therapy will take place (physical location)
• supervision arrangements
• notification arrangements — for instance, if the therapist has to change an appointment or the student is absent that day, who is responsible for informing whom?
• whether the family would like the NDIS funded therapist to attend Student Support Group meetings.

At the first meeting the school must provide the therapist with the Licence Agreement to use school premises and the Information Sharing Deed. Refer to: Licence Agreement and Information Sharing Deed (Word) (login required).

The meeting outcomes must be minuted and kept on the student’s school file.

The payment for NDIS funded therapists attending meetings at schools is to be funded from the participant’s NDIS plan.

Any licence fees associated with using the school premises should be charged to the therapist and not passed on to the NDIS participant. These accommodation related costs are already built into the hourly rate claimed by NDIS therapists.

2 Documentation

Licence to use school premises

Principals must ensure that any arrangement for a NDIS funded therapist to regularly attend school premises is formalised by the therapist signing a licence to use the school premises. An NDIS funded therapist should not be allowed to commence providing regular therapy on school grounds until the Licence Agreement is signed.

The Licence Agreement sets out three possible signing clauses for therapists:

1. where the therapist operates/is entering the licence as a company
2. where the therapist operates/is entering the licence as an incorporated association
3. where the therapist is an individual/sole trader (for example, private therapist).

A template Licence Agreement and a guide to completing the Licence Agreement is available on the Resources tab.

The Licence Agreement contains important provisions that:

• require the therapist (described as the 'Licensee') to hold appropriate insurances
• require the therapist to comply with all reasonable instructions, directions and requests of the principal
• allow the principal to put in place appropriate supervision arrangements, including the ability to appoint a staff member to attend the therapy sessions.

Please note that a new Licence Agreement is not required for every changed circumstance regarding the therapy:

• The Licence Agreement covers the therapist providing services to one or more students. However for every student receiving therapy a Parent Consent Form, Therapy Request Form and Information Sharing Deed is required relating to the additional student/s.
• The Licence Agreement covers one or more therapists employed by the Company or Incorporated Association. If a therapist is to be replaced by another therapist employed by the same Company or Incorporated Association to provide therapy to a student, a Parent Consent Form, Therapy Request Form and Information Sharing Deed is required relating to the additional therapist/s.

If the school agrees to a change request, the Licence Agreement should be amended to take account of these changed circumstances. If this situation occurs, you may contact the Legal Division for further advice at legal.services@education.vic.gov.au

Information Sharing Deed

The licence agreement includes an Information Sharing Deed at Schedule 1 (Annexure B). Principals should ensure this agreement is signed by the NDIS funded therapist at the first meeting.

During Step 1 of these Guidelines, parent(s) must have consented to specific types of information being shared with the School by the NDIS funded therapist (using the Parent Consent Form provided with the Request Form under Step 1). The purpose of the Information Sharing Deed is then to set out exactly how and when NDIS funded therapists must share information with the school about the student who is receiving NDIS therapy on school grounds. The aim of this information sharing is to ensure that the NDIS funded therapist provides information to the school that it ‘needs to know’ to enable it to optimally educate and support the student, and fulfil key legal obligations.

It is the responsibility of principals to tailor the Information Sharing Deed so that it is stipulated how often and by which method information about the student will be shared. The specific requirements of the Information Sharing Deed should then be discussed with the NDIS funded therapist at the first meeting.

If you have any queries regarding the preparation of the licence, or the Information Sharing Deed, please contact Legal Division at legal.services@education.vic.gov.au

Summary of responsibilities for each document

Request Form

NDIS funded therapist

Parent Consent Form

Parent(s) or Mature Minor

Licence Agreement to use the school premises

School Council andCompany/Incorporated Association/Private NDIS funded therapist

Information Sharing Deed

NDIS funded therapist and school principal (or nominee)

3 Dual servicing arrangements

Principals should inform relevant school-based therapists and Student Support Services (SSS) staff about the services being delivered by the NDIS funded therapist, to ensure services are coordinated. Strong communication will help ensure co-ordinated intervention occurs both in a student’s everyday life and at school.

School-based therapists and SSS staff may contact a Professional Practice Leader or their relevant professional organisation if they require advice about entering dual servicing arrangements with NDIS funded therapists. For example, Speech Pathology Australia provides guidance for speech pathologists about dual servicing arrangements.

4 Complaints about NDIS service providers

Complaints from students, parents, or school staff about NDIS service providers should be directed to the NDIS Commission by calling 1800 035 544 or visiting how to make a complaint about a provider.

Definitions

Terminology used throughout this Guidance follows.

Principal
Refers to the school principal or principal nominee such as a member of the school leadership team.

Parent(s)
Refers to parents, guardians and carers.

Therapist
Refers to a private therapist/practitioner or a therapist/practitioner employed by an external disability service provider

Mature minor
Refers to a student who the principal has deemed to be mature minor in accordance with the Department’s Mature Minors and Decision Making Policy. A mature minor may also make a request/consent on their own behalf.

Resources

The following resources have been developed to assist schools when responding to requests for National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funded therapy to be delivered at school:

• Request form and parent consent form (DOCX) (staff login required)
• Template letter to parents (DOCX) (staff login required)
• Licensing agreement and information sharing deed (DOCX) (staff login required)
• Guide to completing the template school council licence agreement (DOCX) (staff login required)
• Responding to requests for NDIS funded therapy in schools factsheet (DOCX)
• Responding to requests for NDIS funded therapy guidelines presentation (PPTX) (staff login required)

The following information resources about the NDIS and what it means for students with disabilities have been developed for schools:

• Schools and the NDIS: FAQs (DOCX)
• NDIS and student transport factsheet (DOCX)

Resources to support students considering post school options

Information for teachers of students with disabilities of school leaving age is available from the NDIS website. Refer to:

• NDIS School Leaver Employment Support (SLES) information including materials for teachers

Links to resources and information on post-school options are available for teachers to help their students as they consider post school options, including accessing the NDIS. Refer to:

• NDIS teacher resources (DOCX) (staff login required)