The Schoolcare Program (SCP) is a state-wide service provided by the Department of Education (DE) in partnership with The Royal Children's Hospital (RCH) Complex Care Hub (CCH).
The program provides specialist training to school staff who have frequent and ongoing responsibility for a student’s complex medical needs, during the school day, therefore enabling the child to attend school.
The CCH team equips carefully nominated school staff with the skills and knowledge to support the student to have their health care requirements met safely at school. All child specific training, monitoring and support is provided by the RCH CCH team.
There are two levels of child-specific SCP training, provided based on the complexity of the student’s medical needs:
- Level One: for children/adolescents who require a level of awareness to support or supervise intermittent medical intervention. Level one training is delivered in a single day education session.
- Level Two: for children/adolescents who require active intervention to support school attendance. Level two training is delivered across a two-day program, which includes the development of a child specific care plan
SCP training is conducted Monday – Friday within school hours.
For further information see please visit the Schoolcare
Program (DE) webpages.
Schoolcare training – outline
Schoolcare training is child specific and delivered by the RCH CCH Nurses across the following structure:
Initial training for new staff
- Day One: Theory and practical
- Day Two: Initial assessment
Annual training for previously trained staff
- Day One: Annual refresher
Follow up support
- Six-month assessment (following either initial assessment or annual refresher)
Schoolcare Child Specific Care Manuals
A child specific care manual is created to support trained school staff with their care of the student.
This care manual is called an 'About Me'.
Care Plans are created/updated annually by the RCH CCH Nursing team in partnership with the child’s parent/guardian/carer and information provided on the referral form.
If an update to the child’s ‘About Me’ is required, it is the responsibility of the school and/or child’s parent/guardian/carer, to inform the DE and/or the RCH Schoolcare Clinical Nurse Consultant, in writing. An updated referral may be required where
there are significant changes to the child’s care requirements.
This can be determined in consult with the SCP program coordinator. Updates can be communicated by emailing schoolcare.program@education.vic.gov.au.