School boards, Principals and In-school committees and teams
Review this list to see what your role is and what you can do to be a Concussion Champion. Know and understand the roles of others around you so you can work together to optimally support youth returning to school following a concussion.
School board
- Lead and support the development and implementation of concussion management and return-to-school policies and protocols.
- Identify staff and provide resources to support concussion management and return-to-school initiatives.
- Promote communication between the School Board and individual schools to ensure consistency when implementing concussion policies and protocols.
- Provide professional development training opportunities to ensure that everyone understands concussion policies and protocols.
- Support opportunities for research initiatives that will help to foster policy and protocol development, implementation and evaluation.
In-school committees and teams
- Determine the needs of the student and the required supports. Consider input from the family; recommendations from the physician or nurse practitioner; the student’s academic, social and mental well-being; concussion symptoms and the concussion policy.
- Share the summary of required supports with the appropriate individuals and keep a copy in the student’s file.
- Work with the student and family to come up with an assessment and evaluation plan.
- Communicate the outcome of the in-school team meeting with the family and student.
- Have follow-up meeting(s) as required if the needs of the student changes or if new information is provided.
- Access school boards’ social work and psychology resources (as needed) to support the well-being of the student and family.
Principals
- Share information about the concussion management and reintegration policies and protocols with all school staff, families, students and before and after school program providers at the beginning of the school year.
- Provide ongoing opportunities for concussion education.
- Support staff in pursuing further professional development opportunities such as attending concussion conferences and workshops.
- Ensure that proper action is taken and policies and protocols are followed if a student has a concussion.
- Maintain a file for the student that captures the student’s information, details of their concussion and other relevant information.
- Schedule and participate in an in-school team meeting to identify accommodations required for the student and ensure that the student and family participates in the meeting.
Remember
Do not let a student or peer return to play if they have or think they have a concussion. Instead, encourage them to tell a trusted adult and get medical help.
* The education system roles have been adapted from the York Region District School Boards Board’s Procedure #662.10 Concussion Management document.