Specialised Training and Advice

What is Specialised Training and Advice?

Specialised Training and Advice projects provide training or advice to enable services to meet the specific needs of a particular child or children. Specialised Training and Advice projects may focus on training regarding specific medical and/or care procedures (e.g.: PEG feeding; administration of medication) or providing advice regarding management of a specific condition.

Specialised training and advice is a short-term form of support and usually involves a small number of sessions in a short period of time. It is often required prior to a child commencing at a service in order to ensure that educators can appropriately meet the child’s needs.

If a service requires ongoing support to meet the inclusion needs of a child or children then Guided Practice support may be more appropriate.

When can a service apply for Specialised Training and Advice?

Specialised Training and Advice supports services to up skill their educators in regard to specific medical conditions and/or disabilities. It should be applied for where there is a need for specific training in order to implement a particular procedure or where educators do not have experience working with a particular condition that requires substantial changes to practice.

It is not available to provide training or advice in relation to conditions for which services are expected to have already undertaken training under the National Regulations and for which there should be existing policies and procedures in place. e.g.: Asthma, allergies or anaphylaxis; routine administration of medication. For more information about this see The ISP Guideline Series: No. 3 Including Children with Serious Medical and Health Conditions.

In some cases, the medical and/or other professionals working with a child may be able to provide suitable training, instruction or advice to educators free of charge (or through an NDIS plan), as part of their work with the child and their family. This option should be explored prior to applying for funding to provide Specialised Training and Advice in order to meet the requirement that funding for proposed Innovative Solutions Support projects is not available elsewhere.

Developing an Innovative Solutions Support Project

Developing and Innovative Solutions Support project, in most cases, requires your service to:

• Have a current Strategic Inclusion Plan (SIP);
• Complete an application form; and
• Develop a Project Plan.

Strategic Inclusion Plan requirements for a Specialist Training and Advice Project

In general, it is expected that your service will have an up to date Strategic Inclusion Plan (SIP), with current Barriers to inclusion identified and Strategies and Actions developed to address the Barriers, in order to apply for Innovative Solutions Support.

However, in the case of urgent applications for Specialised Training and Advice this is not a requirement. In such cases it is expected that, after the assessment and outcome of the application, the service will then develop a SIP. Where an urgent application has been approved without a SIP, any subsequent applications will not be considered until the service has developed their SIP.

Before beginning an application, you should discuss with your Inclusion Professional (IP) whether Innovative Solutions Support is the most appropriate option for your circumstances.

The following resource is designed to help you to develop your project.

Applying for Innovative Solutions Support

There is a separate application form for each type of Innovative Solutions Support Project.

Applications for Innovative Solutions Support can be made at any time and can be for an individual service (or a specific care environment within the service) or a group of services.

With support of your Inclusion Professional, you will be required to complete the relevant application form and, if required, a Project Plan before lodging your application through the Inclusion Support Portal.

Project Plan

Developing a Project Plan is an important part of the planning process. Project plans show who will be doing what, and when and how it will be implemented.

An Innovative Solutions Support Project Plan should be developed in consultation with your Inclusion Professional and your chosen Support Provider.

Submitting an application

Services are required to upload their application form and relevant attachments to the IS Portal. Once submitted, each application is sent to the service's Inclusion Professional for endorsement and is then assessed by the Inclusion Development Fund Manager (IDFM).

Application outcomes

If funding is approved

The service will receive an email with a Letter of Offer attached, providing the details of their approved Innovative Solutions Case. This will be sent to the Service Provider email address listed on the SIP. This letter must be signed and returned to the IDF Manager at idfminnovative@ku.com.au. Once the agreement is executed, payment will be made directly to the service from the Department.

If funding is not approved

The service will receive an email with an Application Declined letter attached. This will be sent to the Service Provider email address listed on the SIP. The outcome of the assessment will be available as an ‘Assessment Outcome’ note on the IS Case.