2. HOW TO USE THIS DOCUMENT
Who is this document for?
- Children and young people who will be supported in achieving their potential through successful partnerships.
- Parents of children and young people, including those who have additional support needs.
- Allied health professionals who work in or out of school with children and young people, including those who have additional support needs.
- Education staff at all levels who work with or influence work involving children and young people, including those with additional support needs.
The overriding purpose of this guidance is to improve outcomes for children and young people. It has been written to improve support for children and young people by encouraging more effective partnership working between allied health professions, 3 education staff and parents. The guidance is needed because many parents and practitioners are saying that there is room for improvement in partnership working between allied health professions and education staff. This message is also clear in the HMIE report on the implementation of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004. 4
The guidance has been drawn from the experiences of parents 5 and practitioners across Scotland who are working in partnership to improve outcomes for children and young people, particularly those with additional support needs. The main allied health professions this guidance refers to are speech and language therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy. Arts therapists, orthoptists and dieticians also informed the development of this document and the relevant practice examples included on the website. A summary of the engagement process is included at Appendix 2.
A tool for self-evaluation
This document is designed to help people think about, and improve, their practice together. Each section of the document contains:
- Features of good practice
- Issues to consider
- Signposts for improvement.
The Issues to Consider and Signposts for Improvement have also been compiled in grids in Appendix 3. The purpose of these tools is to help joint reflection and self-evaluation for improvement. The areas chosen for reflection will depend upon local circumstances. For example, where relationships with parents are being targeted for improvement, parents and professionals may consider together the issues and signposts relating to parents as partners. Focusing on a particular area does not always mean there are concerns. It may be a way of getting even better. Services may wish to carry out an evaluation exercise alone and then join with partners to consider the results and produce an action plan for improvement. This may relate to a commitment to a process of continuous improvement.