Dr Lynn Joffe – Director – Specialist Learning Centre

External specialists and providing updated reports

No external specialists’ sessions on campus until mid 2023

Due to COVID-19 restrictions and the re-arrangement of the campus to accommodate students and staff while the new building is under construction, there are now no venues available in which external specialists (speech pathologists, occupational therapists and others) can run their sessions. They have been made aware of this and have been understanding of these limitations. We know that this is inconvenient for some families but we do not have workable options. This applies with immediate effect.

Information to and from external professionals

Teachers and other professionals in the school are receiving increasing numbers of requests to complete questionnaires and forms about students for external specialists. Please be mindful that, despite what it might look like on face value – just a few boxes to tick – the fact is that, to respond meaningfully and to provide quality information about a student, teachers need time and clear headspace. This is in your child’s/ward’s best interests. It is also the fact that there are competing priorities for teachers’ time and they might not be able to respond immediately.

Many specialists ask that a single teacher complete a form. In High School particularly, this is unlikely to capture a balanced picture of a student over all areas, so an attempt is made to glean information from at least a few subject teachers. This also takes time, as does the collating of information.

In order to respect the above and assist your child to best effect, we ask that the following protocol be adhered to:

• All requests be made a minimum of three weeks ahead of when the information is due to a specialist
• All requests be channelled through Dr Lynn Joffe, Director of the Specialist Learning Centre, who will approach the relevant teachers, collate the information and send it to the referring specialist. This is also important if accurate records are to be kept on incoming and outgoing information about your child/ward.

Please provide updated reports and information via Dr Joffe too so that they are processed appropriately, reach relevant members of staff and help us ensure that data on students is kept current.