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Speech Pathology Australia: Speech Pathology in Schools Project 33
materials required. Speech pathology services
within a school require a budget including the
following:
• salaries and on-costs;
• administrative costs, (e.g. travel, postage,
telephone);
• professional development;
• educational materials for students, (e.g.
photocopying);
• purchasing and maintaining specialist
materials, (e.g. original assessments and
forms, software/ on-line resources); and
• operational costs, (e.g. utilities, cleaning).
Some of these resources will need to be
provided directly by a school and some by
yourself (if you are sub-contracting into the
school) or they may all be provided by the
school if you are employed directly. This will
need to be discussed before you begin work.
In each school where speech pathology services
are provided, you will require an appropriate
quiet, private room for some specific speech
pathology activities. Access to up to date
specialised assessments and intervention
equipment and tests is essential for evidence-
based practice. Principals have been advised to
consider how these resources will be provided
in situations where they directly employ you or if
they have chosen to use you as an independent
contractor. This should be discussed at the
interview stage (either for an employee or
contractor) to ensure that you and the principal
have a shared understanding of what is needed
and who will provide it.
Ownership of files and student
information
It is recommended that you formally clarify the
situation regarding ownership and responsibility
of files in every school that you work in (either
as an employee or as a contractor) and have
this written into the contract. Generally, when
you as a health service provider creates a file,
you are the owner of that record. However, the
ownership of records can also be affected by the
contractual arrangements between you and the
school. Parents need to know where their child’s
information is being stored and who has access
to it.
Administrative and program delivery
support
Like other educational staff, you will require
support for administrative duties including
answering phone calls, taking messages,
recordkeeping, data collection and the
preparation of materials for programs and in-
service provided by the school. The organisation
of parent meetings and obtaining consent
to work with students is another duty to be
negotiated when you are negotiating your
contract.
Depending on the purpose of your speech
pathology service in the school, it is likely that
you will need to ensure that processes for
collaborative program planning with teachers
is established. This may include negotiation
of teacher release time so that you and the
teachers can work together.