Working within the school system—Considerations for practice

Introduction:
In Australia, the introduction of school equity funding has broadened the services available in schools to support the educational and wellbeing outcomes for children of low socioeconomic background (LSEB). Eligible schools in New South Wales (NSW), a state where nearly one third of the population of Australia lives, have used this funding to introduce wellbeing programs or hired more specialist teaching and allied health staff. With this emerging role in schools, occupational therapists need to understand the complexities of lower socioeconomic school environments to be able to work within the education system effectively.

Objectives:
This study aimed to identify facilitators and barriers to school success and wellbeing for children in LSE primary schools.

Method:
A phenomenological methodology was used to understand the experiences of northern NSW school executives and regional managers working in LSES schools.

Results:
Three nondiscrete themes emerged from the phenomenological analysis: Theme 1: foundations: time, relationships, high expectations, wellbeing. Theme 2: systems, and staffing: expertise, resources. Theme 3: perpetuation: disruption, disconnect. Combined, the findings demonstrated the complexity of the low socioeconomic school environment, with multiple factors needing to align to support student wellbeing and success.

Conclusion:
Supporting children of LSEB to experience success and wellbeing at school require effective interdisciplinary partnerships between health and education staff. Occupational therapy services provided in schools do not exist in a vacuum, and models of care that can inform education policy and include school, class, and individual occupational therapy services that may be warranted to improve educational and wellbeing outcomes for children of LSEB.