National Disability Insurance Scheme

​​National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)​

Ipswich Special School and NDIS providers

As part of Ipswich Special School’s commitment to support our students, as well as meet our obligations under our Department of Education policies and procedures, we are mandated to follow the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) provider access to state schools policy to advise school staff, parents and NDIS providers about how we agree to work together. The information has been developed as a point in time document based on the school’s procedures and our current Departmental advice, and will be updated as the school needs and Departmental advice changes.

The Department of Education has advice on their website to indicate the advice to schools, parents and providers. The website stipulates the following information about school services:

Department Policy on NDIS Delivery

Delivery of school services

The NDIS will not replace the supports schools and other mainstream services provide. Reasonable adjustments that state schools​ make for students with disability under the Disability Standards for Education 2005 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 will continue regardless of a student’s NDIS eligibility. Regions and schools will continue to provide support and services for students with disability such as special education programs, assistive technology, specialist and support teachers, therapists, nurses, guidance officers and teacher aides.

Schools will continue to make reasonable adjustments, including provide personal care support, for all students regardless of their NDIS eligibility. There may be some instances where there is an overlap between the supports provided by the NDIS and the support provided by schools. Where this occurs schools should contact their regional Principal Education Officer Student Services for advice.

Considering parent access requests

Principals must consider written requests from parents that an NDIS provider delivers a support under an NDIS plan at school, during school time, on a case-by-case basis taking into account:

1.       The principal's non-delegable duty of care to the safety and wellbeing and privacy of all students.

• Considerations include that the:
• NDIS provider meets mandatory Working with children authority requirements
• NDIS support can be provided in a space that is accessible and enables school staff to observe the NDIS provider's interactions with the student
• NDIS provider has undertaken mandatory departmental training or training as required by the principal.
• The impact of providing the support at school, during school time on the student's learning. If delivering the NDIS support results in the student being removed from the classroom or not participating in school activities and events, considerations include:
• the frequency of the support being provided during school time
• the time taken to provide the NDIS support during school time.

2.       The benefit to the student receiving the NDIS support at school, during school time

• Whether not allowing access will result in the student not receiving the NDIS support. Considerations include:
• if there are limited opportunities for the NDIS support to be provided outside of school, for example in rural and remote communities
• if providing the NDIS support at school is for the convenience of the parent or the NDIS provider and other arrangements could be made.

3.       The impact on other students and their learning

• What the impact on other students at the school is and to what extent any impacts can be reduced. Considerations include:
• any potential disruption in classrooms and other learning environments
• the level of adjustments, if any, that need to be made to the educational program to reduce disruption to other students' learning.

4.       Workplace health and safety

• Enabling NDIS provider access to school, during school time does not pose an unreasonable risk to workplace, health and safety.

5.       The good management and running of the school

• The NDIS support can be delivered in a way that does not interfere with the running of the school.  Considerations include:
• the school has a suitable space where the support can be provided
• NDIS provider access does not result in unreasonable workloads for staff
• the ability of the school to operate and continue educational programs of all students
• the school's capacity to manage the NDIS provider's access, including situations where multiple NDIS providers are accessing the school.

Access is not to be conditional on the parent or NDIS provider sharing information about the student's NDIS plan, other than information about the NDIS support being provided at school, during school time.

Terminating access

• The principal may terminate an NDIS provider's access to the school in the one or more of the following circumstances:
• non-compliance with the Access agreement by the parent or NDIS provider
• providing the support at school, during school time is having an adverse impact on the learning of the student receiving the support and/or other students
• unforeseen disruption to the delivery of education program to other students, or impact on staff and the general running of the school
• high turnover of NDIS providers or their staff delivering a support to a student resulting in unreliable service provision or administrative burden on the school
• significant concerns about the safety and wellbeing of the student receiving the support or other students at the school
• inappropriate conduct by the NDIS provider or their staff including a breach of the Code of Conduct, child protection concerns, privacy concerns or workplace, health and safety issues
• ​any other circumstance that the principal considers appropriate.
  

The State of Queensland (Department of Education and Training), 2015, https://ppr.qed.qld.gov.au/pp/national-disability-insurance-scheme-ndis-provider-access-to-state-schools-policy Accessed 22 February 2022

Department Policy on Collaboration and Sharing in Schools

The website also has the following advice for schools around collaboration and sharing information with NDIS service providers:

Collaboration and sharing information

Parents may wish to share information about their child's NDIS plan, reviews or other adjustments with their child’s teacher, other relevant school staff or departmental specialist staff to support their child's learning at home and at school. This may include asking school staff to meet with an NDIS funded service provider to share information and support a collaborative approach for the child’s education and development.

Principals should consider requests from a parent for an NDIS funded service to be delivered on school grounds during the school day on a case-by-case basis in consultation with the parent. The principal's duty of care obligations, including the safety, privacy and educational needs and priorities of all students, must be considered in any decision to allow external services, such as therapy provision, to be provided to students during school hours on school grounds. The Principal Education Officer - Student Services in each region can be contacted to support principals in this decision-making.”

The State of Queensland (Department of Education and Training), 2015, https://oneportal.deta.qld.gov.au/Students/LearningandDisabilitySupport/NDIS/Pages/Resources.aspx Accessed 16 April 2018

Please complete the Parent Form to Request Documentation, in conjunction with the parents, if you wish to request documentation.

Steps before access can occur

Before a NDIS provider can access the school and provide supports under an NDIS Plan, the following steps must be taken, and renewed each year to enable the consideration of any circumstances that may change affecting the agreements. Note: From 23 January 2022, mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations will be required for all workers or volunteers delivering a service at a school or early childhood education and care setting. All NDIS provider access to state schools requests need to comply with these requirements. For further information, please visit COVID-19 – Information and resources for staff and schools.:

These steps take time. NDIS providers will not be able to access the school and deliver supports to a student until all of these steps are completed.

1. Parent/s make a request in writing parent request form and deliver to the school or email NDISREQUESTS@ipswichspecs.eq.edu.au (please note this email is monitored by many people at the school and is also the best way for NDIS providers to ask questions that relate to therapy provision from our Department of Education therapists too)​
   
   
2. The principal considers the request and may seek further information from the parent.
3. The principal advises the parent/s of their decision.
4. The parent/s advises the NDIS provider.
5. NDIS provider provides information to the school.
6. The school, parent/s and NDIS provider enter into an Access Agreement that sets out the conditions for the NDIS support to be delivered at school during school time.
7. The NDIS provider completes mandatory training, including any training required by the principal, and provides required supporting documentation, including COVID-19 Vaccination certificate that complies with the current medical advice​.

More information can be found in the parent FAQ and the provider FAQ. 

If you have further questions please contact the school on NDISREQUESTS@ipswichspecs.eq.edu.au or by calling (07) 3813 5777.