EC: PEC - Capacity Building - Early childhood supports overview
| Article Record Type | Article Number | Publication Status | Last Modified Date | Version Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guidance | 000002074 | Published | 9/10/2023, 1:36 pm | 1 |
Information
Title EC: PEC - Capacity Building — Early childhood supports overview |
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Description This article provides guidance for early childhood partners and early childhood planner delegates with an overview of the Personal and Environmental Circumstances (PEC) case - Capacity Building questions that specifically relate to early childhood supports, including intensive early childhood supports. The article covers:
- what are developmental areas of need
- what are high and medium to low developmental support needs
- information in provider progress reports
- when the Typical Support Package (TSP) needs adjusting
- intensive early childhood supports.
You must consider the role you deliver to support a successful completion of the PEC so that the TSP best reflects the participant and their family’s actual circumstances and need.
Recent updates October 2023 Current guidance
Additional knowledge articles
For information on the PEC case – Capacity building questions elating to other support areas, go to:
- EC - PEC - Capacity Building - Health and wellbeing
- EC- PEC - Capacity Building - Regulated restrictive practices.
- EC - PEC - Capacity Building - NDIS Hearing Stream Pathway.
What are developmental areas of need?
Consider what a child can do in everyday activities, at home, in the community and in early childhood education. Consider their strengths and needs across the following developmental areas: cognitive development, social development, self-care, receptive and expressive language, emotional development, motor development, vision, and hearing supports.
What are high and medium to low
developmental areas of need?
For each developmental area of need, consider the level of NDIS funded early childhood capacity building supports required over the course of the plan to support the child’s development and functioning in daily life. If support is required for a developmental area, you will need to determine whether the NDIS funded support need is medium to low or high.
It is important to consider the role of informal support provided by families and carers and mainstream and community learning opportunities that also support a child’s development. These supports must be considered alongside NDIS funded early childhood capacity building supports.
Medium to low support to address a developmental area of need is typically when a shorter burst of NDIS funded early childhood capacity building supports are needed followed by occasional reviews over the duration of the plan.
High support to address a developmental area of need is typically when regular, frequent, and sustained NDIS funded early childhood capacity building supports are needed over the duration of the plan. Or when there are very substantial support needs and specialised supports and therapy are required across several days in the week,
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for a set period of time. For example, when intensive NDIS funded early childhood capacity building supports are needed.
Gheaalanner delegate will consider the information gathered by the early cinidiiood partner. Tis nciudes any information fron farnniires,
early childhood educators, teachers, providers, health professionals
cally CinUuneeu PalUiers. TUU WHE HIG UNS HHODTIG@UOTL HT PACT, 20 RR Ete, in the PEC case responses for Capacity Building,
internal note’ in the Activity log, and in attached provider reports.
Information in provider progress reports
To help you determine support needs you can look at provider progress reports, if tirese are availabie. You siiouid expect iv see information about how the service provision is or will be supporiing tie ciiiid and famiiy to pursue tieir NDiS goais. See table below.
| Provider reports | |-|-| | Information about service provision should cover all of the below areas |
Baseline assessment information
Current results of functional capacity assessments for all relevant developmental areas of need are available in one or more provider reports, within 6 months (NDIS Act 2013 s 34(d)).
Where early childhood supports have already been provided (for at least 6 months), there are outcome measures which show that there has been a progression with skills in daily activities, and an increase in participation (NDIS Act 2013 s 34(d)). Outcomes measures are not required if early childhood supports have been provided for less than 6 months.
Annual outcome measures
There are therapy goals in at least one report, or the family or carer can describe the therapy goals. The goals:
- are consistent with NDIS goals (NDIS Act 2013 s 34(a)), and
- are specific enough to allow a measure of progress (NDIS Act 2013 s 34(d)).
Therapy goals
- focus on increasing the child’s independence, participation in everyday routines, activities and places of daily life (NDIS Act 2013 s 34(b)), and
- cover all developmental areas of need requiring therapy support (NDIS Act 2013 s 34(a)).
The early intervention will strongly focus on building the family or carer’s capacity to support the child. For example, the parent is involved in therapy sessions, the therapist supports parent with strategies. (NDIS Act 2013 s 31(c)-(e)).
Parent capacity supports
The early intervention support is implemented so that strategies are redacted embedded in the child’s everyday routines, in th
embedded in the activities and places of daily life
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activities, and places of daily life. For example, when therapy is centre based strategies are implemented in daily routines and activities. (NDIS Act 2013 s 34(b)).
If the child is attending early childhood education, childcare or school, their participation is supported through the provider’s consultation with staff. For example, strategies are shared with childcare staff (NDIS Act 2013 s 34b, s 34(d)-(e)). This may not be applicable for a child who is not attending early childhood education, childcare or school due to very young age or health reasons.
When you are approving the plan or supporting plan implementation it is important that you strongly recommend to parents and carers that their provider completes the early childhood - provider report form at least annually. The report, which can be found on the NDIS website, can help everyone to understand the outcomes of supports provided and what the future goals and recommended supports are.
When the TSP needs adjusting
The following examples can be used as a guide to the planner delegate to assist with any considerations for adjusting the generated TSP for early childhood capacity building supports, if required.
Table 2 - Examples of areas of need and early childhood supports
| Number of areas of need | Examples of early childhood supports |
|---|---|
| 1 high area + up to 1 medium to low area | Weekly early intervention support for a short period (for example, 6 weeks), followed by less regular individual supports and/or group programs. Includes short term secondary consultation/s for all areas of need and a progress report. For a child in an early childhood setting: 1 observation and 1 planning meeting per term, per setting by key worker. |
| 1 high area 2 to 3 medium to low areas | For a child transitioning to school: Child and family support, consultation (visits or meetings) with school. Regular early intervention supports for 12 months (individual and/or group). Includes medium term secondary consultation/s for all areas of need and a progress report. For a child in an early childhood setting: Fortnightly key worker visits for 1 term, followed by less frequent visits for remaining terms, per setting by key worker. For a child transitioning to school: Child and family support, consultation (visits or meetings) with school. |
| 2 high areas 1 to 3 medium to low areas | Regular early intervention supports for 12 months (individual and/or group). Includes medium to longer term secondary consultation/s for all areas of need and a progress report. For a child in an early childhood setting: Fortnightly key worker visits for 1 term, followed by less frequent visits for remaining terms, per setting by key worker. For a child transitioning to school: Child and family support consultation (visits or meetings) with school. |
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with school.
Regular early intervention supports for 12 months (individual and/or group). Includes longer term secondary consultation/s for all areas of need and a progress report. For a child in an early childhood setting: Fortnightly key worker visits for 1 term, followed by less frequent visits for remaining terms, per setting by key worker. For a child transitioning to school: Child and family support, consultation (visits or meetings) with school.
Regular early intervention supports for 12 months (individual and/or group). Includes longer term secondary consultation/s for all areas of need and a progress report. For a child in an early childhood setting: Fortnightly key worker visits for 1 term, followed by less frequent visits for remaining terms, per setting by key worker. For a child transitioning to school: Child and family support, consultation (visits or meetings) with school.
Intensive early childhood supports
Intensive early childhood supports are for children who have very substantial capacity building support needs to maximise their independence and participation in daily life. Most children with developmental delay or disability do not need intensive early childhood supports. Intensive early childhood supports do not include supports relating to: core supports, disability-related health supports, assistive technology (or capacity building supports for assistive technology) or behaviour support plans with restrictive practices. The requests or recommendations for intensive early childhood supports can come from a family or carer, a provider, a health professional, or an early childhood partner.
Consideration for intensive early childhood supports is given to requests or recommendations that are greater than $24,000. When more than 1 provider is engaged, this refers to the total amount recommended across all providers that the family is requesting support for. A TSP will generate for intensive early childhood supports if in the PEC case the early childhood partner has indicated that a parent or provider has identified that there is need for intensive early childhood supports and this is supported by the family. The early childhood partner is required to attach any relevant reports available that are related to the request.
To approve intensive early childhood supports you must ensure there is evidence to show that the support is required for the main areas of need related to a child’s diagnosis. You must also ensure that very substantial support is required for capacity building to support participation in a range of activities in all of the following: daily life in the home, and daily life in the community, and early childhood education and care or school, and family life.
You can look for this information within PACE which was gathered by the early childhood partner. For example, in the PEC case responses for Daily Support and Capacity Building.
If a provider is already providing services to the child and family you should expect to see a report attached in PACE that includes
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information covering all areas in the table under Information in provider reports. See Table 1 — Provider Reports.
If your review of the evidence does not support the need for intensive early childhood supports you will need to adjust the budget. Refer to Table 2 — Examples of areas of need and early childhood supports.
Comparing the generated TSP for intensive early childhood supports to parent requests and provider recommendations The planner delegate will need to check if there is a difference between what the TSP has generated for intensive early childhood supports and what the parent/carer has requested or what the provider has recommended (if recommendations are available). You may need to consider adjusting the TSP up or down based on your considerations.
If provider recommendations are available, consider the recommendations with any additional parent or carer information against the R&N criteria. See Table 4 - Common examples of R&N consideration relating to intensive early childhood supports.
Funding based on the TSP for intensive early childhood supports If the family feel their child and family will benefit from intensive early childhood supports and the planner delegate agrees, the planner delegate will consider approving the TSP without adjustment when provider recommendations:
- do not meet the R&N criteria, or
- are similar to the generated TSP, or
- are not available.
When the TSP for intensive early childhood supports needs adjusting The TSP for intensive early childhood supports may need to be adjusted (up or down) when the parent requests or provider recommendations:
- meet the R&N criteria, and
- are above or below the generated TSP.
The planner delegate can consider adjusting the TSP by basing the R&N decision for funding on provider quote after adjustments are made to the quote. For example, if it is R&N to fund the quote after removing provider travel, accepting number of hours but applying NDIS rate, or reducing the number of program delivery weeks an amount is calculated for, from 52 weeks to 48 weeks to allow for holidays, so the recommendations represent value for money. Table 3 - Common examples of R&N considerations relating to intensive early childhood supports.
Common examples of R&N considerations relating to parent equests and provider ecommendations
Duplication of similar supports by one provider or multiple providers. For example, the recommendation is for duplication of funded supports (NDIS PP (funding where two professionals within the one organisation are providing similar supports or two different providers are supporting the child to develop the same skill.
Calculations in the quote that do not represent value for money.
Value for money (NDIS For example, hourly rates in provider Act 2013 s 34(c)) reports are above prices in the NDIS Support Catalogue, or 52 weeks of the year calculated rather than 48 weeks
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Requested supports that are excessive compared to the outcomes to be achieved. For example, the provider recommends an increase in funding which is not justified in reports, the provider recommends funding for an intensive toilet training program in addition to a comprehensive early intervention program which supports the area of self-care.
Hours for provider travel (not including remote MMM6, very remote MMM7), report writing, multiple staff attending the same meeting, professional development, do not represent value for money.
Delivery of service or recommendations made by a professional who is not qualified. For example, a therapy assistant has written the therapy program, or recommendations include funding for a behaviour therapist (rather than allied health professional) to supervise a therapy program.
Supports and programs with a low evidence base when considering the best available research evidence. For example, equine therapy, dance therapy.
Recommendation includes funding for a support which is more appropriately provided by mainstream and community supports. For example, a therapy assistant in a preschool, a therapist to teach a child to read, or therapy that is recommended on days when the child should be at a mainstream setting.
How long can intensive supports be funded in a plan?
If a child’s NDIS plan has intensive early childhood supports, it will typically go for 12 months.
When approving intensive early childhood supports in a plan, it is important that you discuss with parents or carers that, almost always, the need for intensive supports will reduce over time. This is because:
- their child’s disability support needs are likely to change as their child independence and participation increases
- their child is likely to start participating in other services such as early childhood education and care or school. The early childhood education and care service or school will provide some of the supports their child needs.
When you reassess the child’s plan some of things you will need to consider include:
- how the support has helped to build the family and child’s skills to maximise their independence
- how the child takes part at home, in the community, and in mainstream settings
- if the supports have helped the child use the skills they have learned with different people, across different settings and activities.
- whether the child continues to use the things they have learned
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over time.
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