| Sub-title | |
| Authors | D Soler S Zammit S Wolfendale |
| Abstract | Aims: Special Educational Needs Teams (SENT) project was initiated in October 1998 through joint collaboration of child support services within the Education and the Health Divisions. The aim was to implement the project as a pragmatic response to the need for a co-ordinated approach in the support of children in schools in order to overcome some of the problems of poor interagency liaison and lack of community resources. Methods: Work was initially piloted in two State primary schools and in subsequent years, the number of participating schools varied from 4-10 schools/year. Team structure, method of work and evaluation procedures were developed in order to provide a basis for individual case studies, assessing whole school-needs and developing a plan Results: Over the past 6 years, SENT provided support to 38 Mainstream schools. An average of 7 meetings /school / year was held and an average of 14 cases was reviewed / team. The team liaised with a total of 11 different agencies. Predominant reasons for referral included emotional / behavioural difficulties, speech and language problems, learning difficulties and psychosocial problems. Whole-school needs evaluation varied but a recurring theme included the need for a resource room, social support and parental and teacher information. Conclusion: Feedback received from schools regarding the project has been generally positive. There was a consensus feeling that SENT has enhanced inter-agency collaboration and offered support not only to children and their parents but also to the whole school environment. |
Published in: | |
| Journal | Malta Medical Journal |
| Volume | 15 Issue 1-2/suppl. 2003 |
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| Key words | school, SENT, service delivery, special educational needs teams |