Allied Health
Speech Pathology
The Speech Pathologists at Marnebek work closely with students, families, teaching staff and therapy staff to meet students’ complex communication needs.
We assist students in the following areas:
Augmentative & Alternative Communication (AAC)
Play
Social skills
Understanding and using language to communicate
Literacy
Mealtime support
Our Speech Pathology team employ a classroom-based therapy model which is different from an NDIS community therapy model, as we do not work one-on-one with students on a long-term basis. Classroom based therapy helps teachers establish and reinforce language structures in their existing programs, giving students the confidence to participate in classroom discussions and activities. Short-term, individualised intervention can be provided on a referral basis upon approval from leading teachers.
Physiotherapy
Our physiotherapist at Marnebek helps students learn to move, develop and play at a level appropriate for them to help in the participation in and success of learning activities. The role of a physiotherapist in a school includes the following:
Assessing and providing equipment that a student may need to help with their mobility;
Working closely with classroom staff and other allied health professionals to improve a student’s engagement with their learning;
Providing staff training on safe manual handling techniques and the correct use of equipment to ensure the safety of both staff and students;
Upskilling staff with implementation of gross motor activities into learning programs.
Connecting families to external physiotherapy services for ongoing support; and
Talking with other health professionals as required to help co-ordinate a child’s return to school after illness, hospitalisation or surgery.
Physiotherapy is available throughout the school terms and is dependent on each student’s level of need to access their learning.
Occupational Therapy
Marnebek school has a team of Occupational Therapists who work with students of all ages. The Occupational Therapists enable students to engage in meaningful activities (occupations) in their daily lives, such as learning (fine and gross motor skills), play and functional skills (i.e. toileting, feeding).
At Marnebek, our OT team implements a wide variety of interventions to enable our students to learn to the best of their ability. The team works on a consultative model of service delivery, meaning we do not work one-on-on with students on a long-term basis. Instead, out OT’s work in the classroom alongside teachers with the aim to upskill classroom staff about how best to support our students with their learning. Short-term, individualised intervention can be provided on a referral basis upon approval from leading teachers.
Music Therapy
Our Music Therapist helps students to engage creatively to develop their behavioural, social, and emotional well-being. We use a community approach, meaning we take the larger cultural, institutional, and social context into consideration to help students utilise their strengths to help with emotional engagement, social connectedness, self–regulation, Identity formation, and physiological development within the community they are in.
The music therapist works with individuals and groups and may work collaboratively with teachers to support their learning and work towards goals. Teachers and other staff members can refer students to access the program in a 1:1 service or small group setting when appropriate.
The music therapist also provides:
Upskilling staff with strategies and techniques to use within the classroom/yard.
Connecting with families to help implement techniques and strategies to use at home, as well as help link them to external services and health professionals to support ongoing care, including NDIS.
Offer an alternative form of short-term counselling to help students with mental health prevention, promotion, and overall well-being.
Offering a platform for students to showcase their strengths to peers.
Psychologist
Our Psychologist provides short-term intervention to support students with behavioural, social and emotional difficulties that impede successful learning in the school environment, while supporting students’ mental health and wellbeing when required. This may involve working with students who are experiencing grief, loss, bullying, anxiety, trauma or conflict that is having an impact on their learning.
The psychologist operates on both a consultative model as well as a traditional clinical model. They may work collaboratively with teachers to target a particular skill on a classroom level. Teachers can also make referrals for students to access the psychologist in a small group or for 1:1 services when they are experiencing difficulties that cannot be targeted through whole class programs. Referrals are delivered on a short-term basis with the intention to link students with external longer-term support and services where necessary.
Mental Health Practitioner
Our mental health practitioner role provides an additional resource to the school's existing wellbeing team and includes:
contributing to whole-school approaches to mental health prevention and promotion
providing direct counselling support to students and other early intervention services
coordinating supports for students with more complex needs.
Mental health practitioners provide short term intervention for students with mild to moderate mental health needs and liaise with the relevant internal and external services where students need more intensive support. Informed consent is sought before commencing intervention services.
Nurse
Our Registered Nurse manages health care needs of students including health support planning, medication administration and emergency medical response.
Our Endorsed Enrolled Nurse manages complex student healthcare needs, including the administration of medication and the development of health support plans where required.