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Occupational Therapy

Education Queensland provides occupational therapy services to students with disabilities enrolled in state education facilities. These services focus on the enhancement of education programs and outcomes for students with intellectual impairment, physical impairment, vision impairment, hearing impairment, speech-language impairment, autistic spectrum disorder or multiple impairments. Occupational therapy services are delivered as part of the education program and are directed towards education outcomes.

Other service providers, including other government departments, non-government agencies and private practitioners may be involved in the provision of occupational therapy services to students in Queensland state schools. Education Queensland occupational therapists are committed to working collaboratively with other team members, including those from other agencies, to achieve the best possible education outcomes for students with disabilities.

Occupational therapy service information
Requesting occupational therapy services for students
Management of occupational therapy services
Line Management of occupational therapists
Professional supervision and support for occupational therapists
Resources for occupational therapy practice
Professional development for occupational therapists

Occupational therapy service information

Further information about the role, responsibilities and services an occupational therapist provides can be obtained in the following documents:

The Role and Scope of Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy Services in State Schools (new window) 452k provides direction for the practice and organisation of occupational therapy services in the department. This document is also available in a print version (new window) 451k .
Education Queensland occupational therapy services information brochure (new window) 147k explains how occupational therapy services in schools provides students with the skills for living and learning.
Focus on educational outcomes flyer (new window) 2.0M explains more about how occupational therapy and physiotherapy can work on promoting educational outcomes for students.

Requesting occupational therapy services for students

How to request occupational therapy services (new window) 123k
Problem solving checklist for teachers (new window) 110k
Service request form (new window) 137k
Parent/caregiver permission form (new window) 102k
Information for parents and caregivers brochure (new window) 134k

Management of occupational therapy services

Senior Occupational Therapy Officers and line managers of occupational therapists work collaboratively to ensure an effective management structure for quality occupational therapy services in state schools.

Line management of occupational therapists

Line managers for occupational therapists are determined by district personnel in consultation with relevant stakeholders. In most instances, the line manager is the principal of the base school.
The line manager is responsible for the local organisation of the occupational therapy service and for ensuring access to appropriate resources.
Further information about line management is available in the Education and Policy Procedures Register HRM-PR-012: Management and Supervision of School Based Itinerant Staff and in The Role and Scope of Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy in State Schools (new window) 452k

Professional supervision and support for occupational therapists

Senior occupational therapy officers based at the Disability Services Support Unit Brisbane and Central Northern Disability Services Support Unit provide professional supervision of occupational therapists employed by Education Queensland.
Further information about professional supervision and support is available for occupational therapists in The Role and Scope of Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy (new window) 452k in State Schools and on the Occupational Therapy Professional Learning Community.

Resources to support occupational therapy services

A wide range of resources are available to support and guide occupational therapy services in schools.

Priorities in practice: A manual for occupational therapists and physiotherapists details the approved processes used to ensure that Education Queensland occupational therapy services are provided according to departmental procedures. This manual provides occupational therapists with a framework to identify and prioritise students' needs for occupational therapy services at school.

Education Queensland occupational therapists have access to a broad range of on-line resources and supports including The Occupational Therapy Professional Learning Community.

The Disability Services Support Unit also has a Professional Learning Community which provides a range of information and resources to all specialist support staff including occupational therapists. This includes access to the Disability Services Support Unit Loans Facility to enable trialling of occupational therapy assessment tools, specialised equipment and other resources to support practice in schools.

Professional Development for occupational therapists

Education Queensland is committed to supporting the ongoing and diverse professional development needs of the workforce to deliver quality outcomes for students. Occupational therapy advisers at the Disability Services Support Unit Brisbane provide professional support to Education Queensland occupational therapists. Professional development activities are organised in a variety of ways. Information for occupational therapists can be found at the Occupational Therapy Professional Learning Community and The Professional Development Branch.

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