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What
does a Special Needs Adviser do?
Your County Special Needs Adviser
role is to promote inclusion and equal opportunities for all members of GirlguidingUK
whatever their needs and to ensure that if a member has a special need they
have the opportunity to achieve their full potential within GirlguidingUK
through a fully inclusive programme.
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Health
Care Plans
Health care plans are a useful way of gathering and recording the necessary
information if a young person has a significant medical condition or complex
disability. An individual health care plan can help in understanding the
wider picture of a child's needs and helps to identify the measures needed
to support her.
For a young person with complex needs or where particular first aid or medical
procedures may be required (eg where a girl has an Epipen in case of a severe
allergic reaction), the information requested on the Starting Rainbows,/Brownies/Guides/Senior
Section, G/H or G/O forms, is often not sufficient.
Additional information can be provided on extra sheets of paper but a health
care plan can help to structure this information in a consistent and useful
format. In this way the Leader can be sure she has sufficient information
to ensure the girl's care and wellbeing.
Sometimes a health care plan identifies the need for additional help or
further training needs for adults working with the girl.
Using a health care plan
If, having agreed with parents that you are going to use a health care plan,
the best way of doing so is to sit down with the parents (and young person
if appropriate) and use it as a guide to lead a discussion about the child's
needs. A health care plan should not simply be a form sent off to the parent
for them to fill in and return for filing in records.
A health care plan also needs to be reviewed regularly, although the frequency
will depend on the nature of the girl's needs. You should review the plan
at least once a year, and before a residential event, and at any time there
are any changes to the girl's medication or first aid procedures needed.
It is the parents responsibility to inform you about medication and first
aid, and this needs to be made clear to them when you discuss their daughter's
needs.
Health care plans do not by any means need to be completed for every child
who has a disability, nor are they compulsory even if a young person does
have significant needs.
Used
properly health care plans can:
- clarify
for everyone involved (Leaders, parents, young person) what help and support
can be provided
- provide
reassurance to parents that you have listened and understand their child's
needs
help you feel more confident that you have the necessary information to
look after the young person
safely
- provide
a plan of action if there is a problem
- help
you to adapt and plan activities and make arrangements, with the girl's
needs in mind
They do not replace the normal G/H or G/O form, but can be used alongside
them to supplement the information given. Health care plans can also be useful
for adults with additional needs.
Where can I get a health care plan?
Health care plans are commonly used in schools for children with conditions
such as diabetes, epilepsy and severe allergies. Some of the girls coming
into Guiding will already have one, and it may be that a photocopy of this
is sufficient for use within the unit.
At other times, and particularly when you are taking the girl away on a residential
event, you may need additional information.
Example health care plans for the most common medical conditions likely to
be encountered (diabetes, severe allergic reactions, epilepsy, severe asthma),
a general health care plan and a personal care plan are available via Special
Needs Advisers, or can be downloaded from here  (HCP)
(PCP)
or the Girlguiding UK website. They are not mandatory and do not replace the
normal G/H or G/O forms but can be used alongside them to supplement the information
given.
The general health care plan can be adapted to suit a range of situations,
for example a young person with a physical disability, complex health needs
or a medical condition not covered in the specific health plans. For asthma,
you are only likely to need a health care plan where the condition is severe
and where complex medical management is needed.
There is also a personal care plan for those who may need help with some or
all day to day activities, known as activities of daily living.
The aim is to enable the gathering of appropriate and sufficient information
to ensure the girls needs are identified and met. A copy of this article,
in PDF format, is available here .
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