Eligibility criteria for the School High Health Needs Fund
The School High Health Needs Fund (SHHNF) supports students who have high health needs as the result of a significant health condition and who need additional support for more than six weeks. Learn about the eligibility criteria for the funding.
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Students must meet the eligibility criteria to be considered for funding.
- About the funding
- Eligibility criteria for funding
- Examples of health conditions SHHNF might cover
- Examples of student needs SHHNF doesn't cover
- Further information
About the funding
SHHNF provides funding for a support person who helps with:
- the management of the student’s health needs
- supporting the student to develop strategies to manage their own needs either independently or to the best of their ability.
Eligibility criteria for funding
To be eligible for SHHNF, a student must meet all three of the following criteria.
1. The student has a high health need and needs a support person at school to supervise them, help with physical tasks or respond appropriately in a crisis situation.
2. The support is essential to allow the student to access their usual educational environments and is expected to maintain or improve the student's attendance at school and their ability to self-manage their condition.
3. The student has a high health need of such intensity, frequency and duration, that support is needed to:
- reduce severe effects on personal physical health
- prevent accidents or injury to the student
- reduce the risk of infection.
Examples of health conditions SHHNF might cover
The following are examples of the types of conditions and support needs SHHNF might cover.
- A student is incontinent and requires support to follow a toileting programme several times each day. This may include help with showering and changing clothes.
- A student has Type 1 Diabetes and needs support to learn to manage the condition independently.
- A student has severe allergies, and could react to common allergy triggers at school. They need someone with them to make sure they don't come into contact with anything that could trigger an allergic reaction or to carry out emergency treatment if they go into anaphylactic shock.
- A student has seizures and needs to be taken to a quiet area to sleep afterwards while being supervised, needs to be given medication, needs help with toileting and showering after seizures.
- A student has cancer and suffers severe tiredness, headaches, nausea and vomiting as a result of their treatment.
- A student has a medical condition and requires
- chest therapy each day at school as part of their management programme and/or
- support for the use of continuous oxygen.
Examples of student needs SHHNF doesn't cover
SHHNF is not intended for:
- students who need help with their learning needs or help to catch up on work missed through absence from school
- students with high health needs as the result of an accident — ACC provides for these support needs
- students with a mental health condition whose behaviour needs to be managed for their safety and that of others
- administering medication in accordance with school policy
- provision of consumables such as disposable gloves and the safe disposal of continence products, syringes, catheter tubes and so on
- students who need support with:
- muscle stretches of about half an hour per day as part of a therapy programme
- dressing and undressing for swimming or PE
- moving between classes and carrying books and bags
- pushing a buggy or wheelchair for Education Outside The Classroom
- managing safety in the playground during breaks and lunchtime
- ensuring a student doesn't become over-tired
- management of seizures that occur infrequently or in clusters with long periods in between that are seizure free.
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