Child Protection Policy
Early Childhood Interventions Policy
Konnectus Support Coordination is committed to ensuring that specialised support and services are provided to infants and young children with disability and/or developmental delay, and their families, to promote development, wellbeing, and community participation.
Our Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) Practitioners recognise that as parents and carers, you are
central in supporting your child’s development. Our ECI practitioners aim to:
Provide timely support to facilitate access to essential supports.
Distribute information regarding best-practice early childhood interventions and supports. Assist parents, and/or caregivers to increase confidence and capacity to manage and respond to their child’s support needs.
Increase the child’s ability to perform activities they need or want to participate in.
Increase inclusion and participation in mainstream and community settings. Provide information, and referrals to other necessary support services.
Konnectus Support Coordination Early Childhood Approach.
Child Rights and Responsibilities
Each child will receive access to supports that promotes and respects their legal and human rights. It is Konnectus Support Coordination’s responsibility to assist families to understand their child’s rights and feel confident to exercise these rights. The child and their family must feel empowered to make choices and decisions that optimise health, wellbeing, capacity, and independence.
Family-centred & Strength-based Practice
It is Konnectus Support Coordination’s objective to provide early interventions to children that is family-focused and strength enhancing. Family centred interventions includes staff and family members working alongside each other to learn how to support the child appropriately; Strength enhancing interventions include acknowledgement of the family’s current expertise and knowledge, building upon these identified strengths to provide optimal care.
Learning Environment
Konnectus Support Coordination will provide therapy in supportive learning environments whereby the child feels comfortable and well-supported. These learning environments will be highly structured, well-organised, regular, and predictable.
Learning activities will be culturally responsive and inclusive, using natural learning environments such as the family home & surrounds, community areas, playgroups, early learning centres and schools.
Planning Supports
It is Konnectus Support Coordination’s aim to design a high-quality plan based on each child’s individual needs. Each plan must include links to their family and networks, focusing on capacity building and the use of evidence informed practices. Information will be gathered from various stakeholders respectfully and responsively.
The Early Childhood Provider Report will provide clear and written information to the family, detailing the services and types of supports the child will receive from Konnectus Support Coordination. The Report will be amended to convey the necessary changes in supports that may be required. The Report will be provided to the child’s family and all other persons involved in implementation.
Meeting times may be organised between Konnectus Support Coordination and the family, their advocate, and other providers as appropriate. Staff undertaking plan development are required to consider the importance of the family in identifying the child’s goals, and for each goal, list the actions, responsibilities, frequencies, and duration of services to be coordinated on behalf of the child.
Our team, together with the family will negotiate time ranges for services, service fees (as recorded in service agreement), review timeframes and strategies for plan monitoring and evaluation of effectiveness. The child’s family/advocate must sign the plan to acknowledge agreement with it before implementation can commence. All Stakeholders are provided with a copy of the agreed plan.
Collaborative Practice
Konnectus Support Coordination’s Collaboration Procedure has been developed to clearly understand the importance of active collaboration between participants, families, communities, and other support providers. Collaboration allows all parties to provide input into the service to ensure supports are relevant, appropriate and in line with the Support Plan & Service Agreement.
Children require many important influences to assist their development and support. Konnectus Support Coordination will make initial contact with the family to ensure family consent has been given before contacting other collaborating providers. With consent from the family/advocate, Konnectus Support Coordination will collaborate with others when developing a plan to share information to meet the participant’s needs.
The Child & Family’s needs, interests, aspirations may change during the support delivery phase, leading the child to transition or exit from our service. If this situation occurs, Konnectus Support Coordination will, with the consent of the participant’s family contact the relevant service provider to arrange sharing of documents relevant to the participant, communicating current supports, practices and needs of the participant.
Risk Management
To manage risks appropriately, Konnectus Support Coordination will complete the following:
Individual Risk Assessment Profile for each child Home & Community Safety Checklist
Document all risks in the Risk Assessment Profile and plan appropriate mitigation strategies.
Collaboratively work with our staff, the child/family and other stakeholders to implement risk strategies.
Review risks annually or earlier if indicated – according to the child’s changing needs or circumstances.
Capacity Building
Capacity Building is how children improve, obtain, and retain the skills and knowledge needed to support their learning and development. Konnectus Support Coordination’s objective is to provide high quality practices to participants to develop their capacity. Practitioners design supports related to the child’s functional outcomes after completion of a functional assessment. The assessment is comprehensive and includes information on the child functioning in all developmental domains, as well as areas whereby the child needs more support.
Konnectus Support Coordination requires our staff to work with families and their child’s support network so that all parties can build their capacity to assist the child’s functional outcomes.
Feedback
Using a collaborative approach, Konnectus Support Coordination can identify and record feedback and learnings from the family, child and other professionals.
All feedback and learnings are recorded in the participant’s records, and the information is used to monitor, review and adjust the plan to ensure functional outcomes are being met.
Evidence Informed Practice
Konnectus Support Coordination aims to use evidence informed methods as part of our everyday practices. Evidence informed practice is the process that compiles the best available research, expert knowledge and current data to provide services proven to achieve positive outcomes for children and their families. Our staff uses evidence based practice when designing plans and programs – and intervention strategies used are based on explicit principles, validated practices, best available research, and relevant laws and regulations.
When designing a participant’s plan, our staff practice evidence-based practice methods to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the health or developmental issue being addressed, how to use evidence to implement effective practices and plan/implement actions that will result in effective short and long-term outcomes.
Konnectus Support Coordination provides training/educational opportunities to our staff to ensure access to and consistent use of evidence-based practices. We undertake annual employee performance management reviews that requires employees to undertake a self-assessment against their position description and key performance indicators to ensure high quality standard practices are consistently executed.
Violence, Abuse, Neglect, Exploitation and Discrimination Policy & Procedures
Children and young people form one of the most vulnerable groups in our society. Konnectus Support Coordination must identify, consult, and respond to instances where a child or young person is at risk of significant harm.
The objective of this policy is to ensure Konnectus Support Coordination:
Takes a preventative and proactive approach to child safety.
Values and empowers children to participate in decisions that affect their lives.
Fosters a culture of openness to disclose risks of harm to children’s safety.
Respects diversity in cultures with regards to child-rearing practices whilst keeping child’s safety paramount
Provides training to appropriately trained staff with all required screening clearances on appropriate conduct towards children
Engages the most suitably trained and qualified staff to work with children
Ensures children know who to talk to if they are feeling unsafe or worried about their safety.
Reports suspected abuse, neglect, or mistreatment promptly to the appropriate authorities Shares information appropriately and lawfully with other organisations where the safety and wellbeing of a child is at risk
Follows the NDIS (Incident Management and Reportable Incidents) Rules 2018.
Workers Screening and Risk-Assessed Roles Policy & Procedures
It is a legislative requirement that staff engaged in a risk assessed role must have the required WA Government Department of Communities clearance check. Staff must also undergo the NDIS Worker Screening and Working with Children Check process prior to employment. Appropriate clearances ensure that key personnel in risk assessed roles do not pose an unacceptable risk to our NDIS participants safety and wellbeing.
