Occupational Therapy
Woodlands works with Occupational Therapists assigned to individual children and young people. The service is usually provided by each Local Authority and can be accessed through the Family Team. Families in Plymouth may contact the Children’s Integrated Disability Team Single Point of Contact
What do therapists do?
- Carry out holistic assessments of disabled children, in order to provide effective services and interventions which will enable the child to maximise their functional abilities and independence in all environments.
- Look at short, medium and long term aims and provide interventions that are outcome focused.
- Carry out main areas of work including: postural management, risk assessment, manual handling, provision of equipment, major and minor housing adaptations.
- Implement preventative strategies and early therapeutic intervention to minimise risk and promote quality of life.
- Plan and review service provision in a timely manner, maintaining accurate and up to date records in accordance with professional standards, legal and organisational requirements.
- Liaise with agencies involved in the care and service provision for that child.
- Comply with HPC standards of proficiency and conduct, performance and code of ethics.
- Provide referral criteria or eligibility criteria to access a service from the team
Referrals are accepted from any professional and are taken directly into the team. Parent referrals come through the Advise and Assessment service or Single Point of Contact and must have an issue specific to Occupational Therapy, for example personal care, mobility, housing etc.
Woodlands pupils can have access to Occupational Therapy support if indicated by assessment. This service is accessed through parents / carers / guardians completing an information sharing agreement (A basic CAF form application) and returning this to the Family Team. The school will ensure the information gets passed to the appropriate person to ensure swift support.
How Woodlands staff work with Occupational Therapists
Some pupils will have special OT programmes which need to be implemented at home and at school. School staff work closely with the OTs to ensure we can provide excellent support for your child's needs. This may be with regards to seating, positioning or intimate care needs.
Woodlands will provide specialist seating for pupils to access their learning where this is beneficial to the child. We endeavour to make cost effective purchases and we work closely with the child's Occupational Therapist. Where possible we aim to use chairs from Occupational therapy Stores in each county.
School Funded Occupational Therapist Support
Woodlands spends some of the Pupil Premium funding on specialist Occupational Therapy to support sensory integration. Blue Sky Therapies provide us with one day a week of highly specialist support. Pupils across the school with sensory needs may benefit from this support which can help in a variety of areas including self regulation, behaviour, ability to function well in school and at home. The range of sensory support offered includes assessments, programmes to aid sensory development and may involve a sensory diet (a programme of stimulating and relaxing sensory experiences), sensory integration techniques or swing therapy. Parents and staff may refer a child for support.
