TRAINING COURSES & ELIGIBILITY
SAS Professional Development
SAS Facilitators are the heart of the SAS Small Group Program, playing a crucial role in supporting each group's outcomes.
Allied health and education professionals typically facilitate the SAS Small Group Program. Professionals learn to deliver the program aligned with evidence-based and clinical best practice.
There are three different SAS team member roles available in total:
- SAS Facilitator
- SAS Assistant, and
- SAS Senior Facilitator.
SAS Facilitator Training Course
This 14-hour online course provides professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively facilitate the SAS Small Group Program.
And the course content remains in your Facilitator Dashboard to refer back to later!
Applicants are required to meet the following eligibility criteria to ensure they benefit from the course and have the capacity to successfully deliver the program to families:
- A minimum of a higher education level qualification in a helping or teaching profession (including, but not limited to, psychology, social work, psychiatry, counselling, occupational therapy, speech pathology, education), and
- A minimum of six months professional experience working with children in groups or with behavioural, attentional or social-emotional goals.
SAS Assistant Short Course
This self-paced online short course is a foundation for any adult planning to support an SAS Facilitator in their delivery of the SAS Small Group Program. It is the equivalent of 2-3 hours of professional development.
It is also a great introduction for those who are curious and want to know more!
SAS Assistants may support an SAS Facilitator with both the functionality of the SAS online platform (including activity controls and token-giving during sessions) or assisting individual Cadet literacy and behaviour needs.
Once qualified, SAS Assistants access the SAS online platform in the same way as SAS Facilitators, but with limited access and visibility and without key Lead Facilitator controls.
There are no eligibility requirements to undertake this course.
Contact us if you would like to purchase SAS Assistant Short Course place in bulk for your team.
Senior SAS Facilitator Accreditation
SAS Facilitators experienced in delivering the SAS Small Group Program can apply to become Senior SAS Facilitators.
To be accredited as a Senior SAS Facilitator, applicants must demonstrate best practise SAS delivery.
This accreditation unlocks functionality for two trained professionals to facilitate one group of six children on one screen within the SAS online platform, and opens up pathways to SAS team leadership.
Frequently Asked Questions
Once enrolled, the link to commence training remains valid for six (6) months. Once professionals commence training, they will have three (3) months to complete the course. If the course is not completed within this time, professionals may apply and pay again.
The training course involves a combination of learning activities including; videos providing session modelling and lecture content, gamified creative problem solving, simulation activities, review of program instructions and assessment questions and quizzes. The course will unlock with progressive assessment which is designed to assist all trainees to achieve successful completion.
The self-paced online training modules are accessed through the same specially-designed SAS online platform that will later be used to facilitate the SAS Small Group Program with families. After completion of the course, SAS Facilitators will maintain access to the course content through their Facilitator Dashboard to allow just-in-time review when preparing for sessions.
During the 14 hours of flexible training, professionals gain the knowledge and skills to:
- Assess the social functioning of children;
- Deliver a comprehensive program to children (that typically present with social and emotional goals) and their parents through the SAS online platform;
- Tailor the program content and teaching methods to meet individual child or parent needs;
- Promote the generalisation and maintenance of children’s emotional regulation, problem social and social skill application at home and school;
- Manage common process issues that arise when facilitating group programs for children with social and emotional challenges and their parents;
- Evaluate the effectiveness of a program for diversifying children's social and emotional skills; and
- Identify indicators that a child and/or family require additional support.
I prefer training as a group. Can I complete the SAS Facilitator Training Course with my colleagues?
The use of an online and self-paced training method allows professionals to flexibly learn via online units in their own time, to suit individual schedules and learning speeds. Coordination tips are provided for professionals wishing to complete the training together with a colleague, or for services wishing to provide a collaborative whole team training process.
Please review the SAS Implementation Guide for tips on synchronous and asynchronous learning with colleagues.
During the 2-3 hour course, applicants gain awareness of:
- The SAS Small Group Program framework;
- Main program components of SAS group meetings;
- A basic guide to supporting Cadet behaviour and learning;
- Familiarity with the SAS online platform to assist the SAS Facilitator with allocating tokens; supporting Cadet response submissions; or turn-taking controls.