Support Plan Meeting Template, Teacher Edition: run child-first support meetings with families

This is the same child-first meeting kit, written for the school side. You get the fillable child questionnaire, the fillable adult meeting pack, the Response Scales cards, a guide to running the meeting, five emails to families, a guide to talking with a child about school, and plain-language notes on where the Disability Standards for Education and the NCCD fit.

You already make adjustments every day, and you already know this child. Most of what this kit asks for, you already do. The kit adds a structure that families can see, and a record that counts for the school.

The child's questionnaire opens the meeting. The family fills in the child questionnaire at home, in any way that works for the child. What the child asks for is the first thing the adults talk about, and you respond to it before anything else.

The adults review every support. For each support from last time, the meeting asks three questions. Did it happen? What did school notice? What did home notice? Then you keep it, change it, pause it, or try something new.

Every decision gets a name, a start date, and a date to check back. The adult pack, filled in properly, records consultation, adjustment, monitoring, and review in one document. That covers most of what the NCCD asks for as evidence.

What families notice at home counts as evidence. Tiredness, recovery time, sleep, and the first hour after school all tell you something about the school day, even when school did not see it.

What you download

Six PDF files. Three are the documents used in the meeting, and three are guides.

• The Pre-meeting Child Questionnaire (fillable PDF). This is the student's document. It uses tick boxes and picture scales, so it suits younger students and anyone who would rather tick and draw than write.
• The Adult Meeting Pack (fillable PDF). This is the adults' document. It has a meeting checklist, the family's notes before the meeting, the questions to ask the teacher, the pages filled in during the meeting, and a check-back log.
• The Response Scales cards (printable PDF). These are the picture scales from the questionnaire, printed large, so a student can point to or stand on their answer.
• The teacher guide. This guide explains how to run the meeting from the school side: inviting families early, preparing the room, starting with the child questionnaire, reviewing supports without blame, keeping the language on situations, and making every agreement specific. It also covers how to talk with the student at school, where the kit sits legally, which page gives you which NCCD evidence, a swap table for the language that follows a student through the school, and five email templates for families.
• Reasonable adjustments, and how to ask for them. This is the family-facing guide. It is included so you can see what families have been told.
• Talking with your child about school. This guide explains why direct questions are hard for a child and gives ways to get honest answers: side by side, through movement, with pictures, with the Response Scales cards, and through someone else. It is written for parents, and the teacher guide explains how to use the same methods at school.

The three meeting documents are the same files the family edition includes, so both sides work from one set of documents.

Who it suits

This edition is for classroom teachers, learning support teachers, heads of special education services, guidance officers, and school leaders in Australian primary and secondary schools. It also suits schools that want one shared format for support meetings across a year level or a whole school.

Buying for several staff

Each copy is licensed to one teacher. If your school wants copies for several staff, email info@manyminds.org.au and we will send one invoice for the group.

Who made it

Dr Kristyn Sommer, developmental scientist, and Amanda McCowan, occupational therapist, wrote this kit. Both are co-founders of Many Minds Institute. The kit builds on the Disability Standards for Education 2005 and the NCCD evidence requirements. It also builds on a lot of meetings that could have gone better.

Format and price

The files are PDFs. The three meeting documents are fillable on a screen, and every file prints on A4. The download is instant. You pay what you want, from A$5.

Want to work through it with someone?

Schools can book a consultation with Many Minds. We help a teacher or a support team go through a completed pack, think of adjustments that fit the classroom, and plan the next meeting with the family. A consultation is general guidance from two practitioners. It sits alongside the student's care team, the guidance officer, and the school's own processes. Book at manyminds.org.au/support-plan-template.

Feedback

Every document in the kit ends with a two-minute feedback form. What you tell us shapes the next version.

Refunds

If the kit is of no use to you, email info@manyminds.org.au within five days for a refund.