Professional Support Services Review
Survey of Professional Support Services
This survey is being conducted to support a review of TDSB Professional Support Services.What are Professional Support Services?
Professional Support Services (PSS) are provided to children and youth, families and staff in the TDSB. The TDSB is committed to all students achieving his/her full potential. Key to this success is the development of the "whole child", in mental, physical, and social personal growth. This unit consists of the front line professional services that support a large number of our students with complex needs.
What services are included within Professional Support Services?
The Toronto District School Board works with students, parent/guardian/caregiver(s), schools and agencies to ensure that the needs of all students are met in the most equitable and inclusive environment possible. PSS provides consultation and direct services to over 20,000 referred students each year across the TDSB, to optimize the educational outcome for all students.
PSS is comprised of qualified staff in a number of areas, the largest ones of which are:
- Child and Youth Services
- Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy Services
- Psychological Services
- Social Work and Attendance Services
- Speech-Language Pathology Services
- College of Occupational Therapists of Ontario
- College of Physiotherapists of Ontario
- College of Psychologists of Ontario
- Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers
- College of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists of Ontario
What is the purpose of the Professional Support Services Review?
In December 2010, the Board of Trustees passed a motion requiring TDSB leadership to conduct a review of PSS. Recognizing the importance of PSS in enabling students to achieve academic and personal success, the Board has identified the following objectives for the review:
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Review the programs and services being delivered by PSS to assess how they support the Board’s diverse community, and align with the student achievement priority, leading practices, and the Director’s Full Services Schools initiative
- Assess the application of the learning and leading practices from the Student Support Leadership Initiative, the Leadership Action Team, and other board initiatives
- Identify the scope and types of services required to fully meet the needs of students and the cost associated with providing those services and sustaining effective collaborative partnerships
In what areas will the Professional Support Services Review focus?
The PSS review has three areas of focus: Access and Equity, Coordination, and Quality. With these three areas of focus in mind, the review has the following objectives:
- Assess whether students are able to access and receive high quality PSS support
- Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the models of service delivery
- Identify current service models which are consistent with research evidence and best practices; and
- Consider how PSS can best serve students, their families and educational staff
How will this survey support the Professional Support Services Review?
Critical to the success of this review is the participation of individuals, families and organizations involved with PSS. The following survey is designed to gather information through a series of questions that will require 10-20 minutes of your time. The majority of questions are multiple-choice. An opportunity for open general commentary is provided at the end of the survey.
Will responses to the survey be kept confidential?
All information gathered through this survey will remain anonymous. Deloitte will not identify or attribute responses to a specific person, but rather will summarize key themes across survey respondents.
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