Evaluation of the In-School and Pre-School Therapy Support Demonstration Project

Description

The National Council for Special Education invites tenders for the evaluation of the In-School and Pre-School Therapy Support Demonstration Project. Budget 2018 provided funding to the Department of Education and Skills (DES) to commence a demonstration project on the provision of an in-school SLT service over the course of the 2018/19 school year. The project subsequently expanded to include the provision of occupational therapy (OT) service. With additional funding provided the Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA), the project was also expanded to include pre-school settings to enable a focus on early intervention. The project will develop and test a model for the delivery of in-school and pre-school therapy support in the HSE Community Healthcare Organisation (CHO) region 7 (Dublin West, Dublin South West, Dublin South City and Kildare/West Wicklow), across a range of schools and pre-school settings, in conjunction with the Health Service Executive (HSE). The project will focus on developing greater linkages between educational and therapy supports. It will provide for in-school and pre-school therapy services within a model, and also professional support, training and guidance for school/pre-school staff and parents. It will seek to assist schools/pre-schools to develop their capacity to support children with speech and language and occupational therapy needs in schools, while also focusing on early identification and intervention. In this context the pilot will seek to establish greater linkages between pre-school and primary school therapy support interventions in the associated schools and preschools who are participating in the pilot. The agreed model of service delivery is based on a multi-tiered interdisciplinary model of support to schools along a continuum of provision dependent on need. The project - and its evaluation - is being managed by the NCSE.