Date
03 November 2024

Support an effective process for returning to ECE or school

Suggestion for implementing the strategy ‘Traumatic brain injury (TBI): Support a return to learning and activity’

Appoint a liaison person and clarify role

Appoint a liaison person and clarify role

Appointing a dedicated liaison person who knows all the people involved is immensely helpful for whānau, the child or young person, and professionals.

Defining responsibilities helps keep everyone on the same page.

  • Coordinate regular communication between home and school or early childhood setting (communication book, social media, texting, email).
  • Develop and manage the Individual Education Plan (IEP) process to support planning the next steps.
  • Document progress, for example, through an e-portfolio.
  • Liaise with the rehabilitation team.
  • Allocate a key contact for the child or young person and whānau when they need someone to talk to.
  • Make staff aware of how to provide assistance and ensure safety.
  • Coordinate scaling activities or workload up and down (sometimes children and young people will do fine for a while, and then need to reduce their activity).
  • Oversee the individualising of supports.
  • Coordinate medication management.
  • Watch for new or recurring symptoms.
  • Monitor the child or young person’s levels of anxiety and frustration.

Source: Brain 101: The concussion playbook (opens in a new tab/window)

Be guided by whānau

Be guided by whānau

Make no assumptions about what a child needs.

Whānau know their child best and how to motivate them in their rehabilitation.

Demonstrate empathy

Demonstrate empathy

Remove barriers to collaboration with whānau by listening and showing empathy. 

These actions will help build trust and support collaboration.

Support clear shared goals

Support clear shared goals

Benefits of professionals and whānau taking a coordinated approach include:

  • increased opportunities to work on rehabilitation goals across the contexts of both home and school
  • all supporting adults are working towards the same goals and aligning advice.
  • relieves parents, whānau and caregivers of the responsibility of having to be the translator and messenger between multiple people and agencies.

Recognise you are part of a big team

Recognise you are part of a big team

Having an awareness of your place in a wider team will support more effective collaboration.

11609 [Brain-injury-working-with-child-family.png]

Source: Ministry of Education

Source:
Ministry of Education

Useful resources

Useful resources

Website

Collaboration – the heart of the matter

Ministry of Education recommendations on setting up collaborative IEP teams.

Visit website

Website

Concussion protocol resources for schools

These resources will support educators to develop and implement evidence-based, best-practice concussion protocols based on the Canadian Guideline on Concussion in Sport.

Publisher: Parachute Canada

Visit website

Website

About e-portfolios

An overview of how schools are using online spaces or blogs to record and share students’ learning.

Publisher: Enabling E-Learning

Visit website

Next steps

More suggestions for implementing the strategy “Traumatic brain injury (TBI): Support a return to learning and activity”:

Return to the guide “Supporting learners with acquired brain injury”

Guide to Index of the guide: Acquired brain injury and learning

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