Children with complex medical needs have the same right to participate in early learning experiences as their peers. The Lifestart Start Strong Pathways (SSP) team has developed a FLEXIBLE PATHWAYS TO LEARNING for children who have complex medical needs.
What does the evidence tell us?
Children learn best when doing everyday things, in everyday places. Please read the section Best Practice Guidelines – Quality Area 2: Inclusion for more information.
Children with complex medical needs have the same right to participate in learning as their peers.
What does medically complex mean?
Medically complex is a term used to describe a child requiring ongoing specialist care. This might include a child who:
- Requires frequent medical support, beyond routine checkups.
- Requires specialist equipment, e.g., wheelchair, tube feeding, walkers or standing frames.
- Requires prolonged or frequent hospitalisation.
- Requires intensive medical home care.
- Has experienced prolonged trauma.
Convention on the Rights of the Child (pdf)
All children have the right to an education.
Setting up for success – A “can” versus “can’t” approach.
Children with complex medical needs can thrive within learning environments with appropriate planning and support.
THE FLEXIBLE PATHWAY TO LEARNING approach to Early Childhood Education.
Parents want their child to be around other children the same age as them, their peers.
They want them to be learning alongside their peers and feel confident that centres can provide the supports they need.
Often, due to numerous hospital admissions and medical appointments, the child has had little or no experience interacting with peers, which parents understand is essential for their wellbeing and development.
How does it work?
- Parent identifies a centre and places their child on the waitlist. This could be done with SSP support.
- SSP supports the parent to work collaboratively with their preferred centre to plan for organised drop in visits that align with child’s medical appointments. This would be during a free play period at the centre.
- Parent would have DUTY OF CARE of their child and be able to observe their child in the mainstream learning environment, interacting with other children, navigating outdoor play spaces, engaging with play activities.
- Educators would slowly build relationships with the child and parent and learn from parent eg by their interactions, their communication, the care needs of the child through observations.
- This would be an obvious soft transition by way of an orientation program for the child with complex needs.
- Transition planning including collaboration with the family, and the team around the child would be the next step.
Planning for success.
- Understanding what is important to the child and family, including, family goals.
- Development of person-centred tools (e.g., one-page-profile) to communicate strengths, interests and supports.
- A collaborative approach to promote consistency across all natural environments.
A whole team approach.
- Collaboration with therapists to understand reasonable and suitable adjustments that reflect the child and family goals.
- Development of an Individual Education Plan.
- Collaboration with medical specialists to development an individualised medical care plan.
Pathways to Early Childhood Education.
- Attending centre tours.
- Transition planning including collaboration with families, and the team around the child.
- Identify barriers to access.
- Supporting flexible pathways to learning.
Promote child engagement and participation within learning.
- A collaborative approach to promote educator capacity.
- Collaboration with the NSW/ACT Inclusion Support Agency or DIP Sector Capacity Building
- Development of a Working Together Agreement.
Ongoing success in learning environments.
- Family check-in to explore the child’s engagement within learning environments.
- Collaborate with educators to address any individual needs.
