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Speech Pathology Australia: Speech Pathology in Schools Project 31
What you need to consider when working
in schools
Before you begin work and while you are
working in schools, you need to consider a
number of issues. Some of the key ones include
workload management, service delivery options,
employment arrangements, clinical supervisions
and mentoring, resource requirements,
ownership of files and student information, and
andministrative and program delivery support.
Workload management
Your workload in your school needs to be
carefully managed, especially in the situation
where you are the only or first speech
pathologist the school has had. The following
issues need to be addressed.
• How you schedule workload responsibilities
which include direct and indirect services
(and administrative tasks) across your time
in a school is vital. It is recommended that
you negotiate your service and include
regular points of review.
• Determine whether there is a match or
mismatch between your time and workload.
If there is a mismatch it is essential to
document your concerns and to raise these
with the school.
• Determine what activities you think are
necessary to provide appropriate support
services for each student on the caseload.
Consideration must be given to best
practice interventions, (e.g. RtI).
• Start filling available slots and supportable
time estimates (additional time for all of the
support activities must be accounted for).
• Strive for a balance among the three tiers
of the RTI model and include a fourth
component, administrative/management
tasks.
• When all the timeslots are filled, your
caseload maximum has been reached.
When the workload responsibilities do not fit
into the time slots available, you may need
to discuss with the principal (or whomever
you are reporting to in the management of
the school) to explore possible options for
change. Flexibility becomes an important
consideration at this step.
Service delivery options
Changing the way service is delivered to
students may result in a varied workload even
though the caseload number remains the same.
Consider “Who is your client?” Is the client the
school, the parent, the student, the teacher, the
class? This helps to frame expectations and
negotiations with the Principal and teaching staff
as well as workload management. Being clear
on what your role is within the school and what
you and the school hope to achieve through the
speech pathology service is critical to help you
manage your workload. The potential priorities
of a speech pathologist in any school are literally
endless so it is important you keep a clear line of
sight on your role and goals.
Employment arrangements
Speech Pathology Australia recommends to
all schools who are employing or contracting
a speech pathologist that they meet minimum
requirements for regulation of their practice. You,
the speech pathologist must:
• be a current financial practising member
of SPA with Certified Practising Speech
Pathologist CPSP status;
• have current (and an adequate level of)
professional indemnity insurance; and
• have a current working with children check.
Members of Speech Pathology Australia are
strongly encouraged to make a commitment
to read, understand and then apply
(2010) within all professional
interactions. It can be useful for you to explain
to a potential employer (school principal) how
CPSP membership ensures that you are meeting
the code. You can explain that it is similar to a
teacher being registered with a teaching board.
More information is available about
on the SPA website.
Employee vs. independent contractor
Principals have been advised in this resource
that they will need to consider if they wish
to employ a speech pathologist directly (as
a school employee) or as an independent
contractor.