Absorbing everything that has happened during a SchoolKit Clinic can take a little time for a parent or carer. During any clinic there may have been issues that they will have found it difficult to talk about, and moments of clarity where they realise that the professionals around the table have heard what they’re saying and properly understood their child’s situation, sometimes for the very first time. Naturally, extremes of emotion can be attached to both ends of this spectrum.
The most important outcome of any SchoolKit Clinic, above all, is that the family come away with a sense of optimism, and confidence in the team of specialists and professionals that has been put in place to support them in caring for their child.
An important part of achieving this is ensuring a continuous, ongoing flow of open communication between the family and both the school and the health team.
Often, soon after a clinic, the family will be called by the principal or school counsellor, or a key member of the health team, or both. They will receive a letter from the health team that outlines the management plan that was agreed during the clinic. Follow-up calls and contacts may continue as new strategies are implemented, changes monitored, and strategies adjusted as necessary.
A number of important considerations should be stressed and repeatedly reinforced with the family after a clinic:
- They are free to ask any questions they want and request any further information they need after a clinic so as to fully understand what might be involved in the agreed strategies, and what the implications of implementing them might be.
- All information gathered during the clinic process will be kept confidential to the school clinic team, except where it is helpful that it is shared with others, and only with the family’s consent.
- They can ask for additional support or assistance at any time to help them implement changes or new strategies they have agreed to trial.
- Everyone involved in the school clinic team will continue to welcome any feedback from the family about the impacts and effects of the strategies implemented.
- If, after a clinic, a parent or carer feels strongly about any decisions made during the clinic and wants changes to be made to the management plan, they are fully entitled to discuss this further.
So as to assist those running SchoolKit Clinics, the parents or carers who have participated in a clinic may be asked to complete an evaluation survey, for review or research purposes.