Occupational Therapy
Shine Occupational Therapy Provision at Green Lane School
At Green Lane school, it is recognised that school plays an essential role, not just in achieving academic outcomes, but also in identifying and addressing barriers to learning that pupils may face; supporting them to meet developmental milestones; and equipping them with a variety of independent life skills. To effectively address these non-academic outcomes, Shine Occupational Therapy works within the school providing both consultancy, to embed whole-school approaches, and specialist therapeutic interventions, to support individual pupils with their additional needs.
The Balanced System® Approach
Occupational Therapy provision at Green Lane school will be delivered across 3 distinct tiers of therapy provision: universal, targeted, and specialist.
The Universal Tier
• Universal provision is good for and accessible to all pupils within the school.
• The occupational therapist’s works as an integrated part of the whole school team, developing approaches that fit in line with the school’s principles, targets, and curriculum.
• A key focus of this tier is on increasing the knowledge base and skill set of everyone within the school. This is achieved through coaching and consultancy, identification of training needs, and developing and delivering bespoke training packages.
• Another focus is ensuring that the school environment as a whole is accessible: promoting the achievement of desired therapeutic outcomes and removing any potential barriers.
• Strategies are embedded throughout the everyday school environment, allowing pupils to develop functional skills within their typical context.
• Involvement in the implementation of universal strategies is the responsibility of everyone working across the school.
The Targeted Tier
• Targeted provision is necessary for some pupils within the school.
• Some pupils present with additional support needs, for example to identify and address sensory processing needs presenting a barrier to learning or to achieve fine motor skill developmental milestones. They require more specific, personalised advice and intervention strategies.
• The OT will typically be directly involved with the pupil in the initial stages to assess, develop therapy plans, model strategies, and coach relevant staff. These designated trained staff will then take responsibility for continued delivery of the identified therapeutic intervention strategies.
• The OT will regularly monitor intervention delivery, evaluate progress towards goal achievement, and readjust therapy plans as indicated.
The Specialist Tier
• Specialist provision is required for a few pupils within the school.
• A few pupils present with more complex needs that require more specialist and detailed occupational therapy assessment, often using a variety of standardised assessment tools.
• These pupils will require the development of personalised, highly specific, and highly structured therapy intervention plans which will be directly delivered by the OT on a 1:1 basis.
• Intervention will also be carried out regularly by designated school staff to ensure carry over of progress made in occupational therapy sessions to the pupil’s wider everyday school context.
It should be noted that pupils may fit into different tiers depending on the aspect of occupational therapy service provision. For example, a pupil requiring universal level provision only for sensory integration needs may require targeted support for fine motor skill and handwriting development. The tiered approach is flexible and subject to change according to level of need. As pupil’s initially receiving specialist level provision begin to make progress and achieve their goals, they may begin to move down to targeted, and later universal, levels of support. Conversely, others may begin at a universal support level and then be identified as requiring more targeted supported later in their academic school journey as they face new demands and challenges
Occupational Therapy Provision at Green Lane School
Sensory Integration
Universal:
• All staff have received training on what sensory processing is, as well as sensory lifestyle’s, by an Advanced Practitioner in sensory integration.
• Dedicated education support teams can engage with ongoing coaching and support delivered by the OT during observation assessments and support sessions whilst in their individual classrooms.
• Occupational Therapy is currently working towards helping promote a whole school sensory-friendly environment. As part of this process the school environment is regularly evaluated, and advice and guidance provided around environmental adaptions required. Classes are also being provided with a toolkit of specialist sensory resources and equipment that will aid sensory regulation specific to their environment and the needs of the young people that they support.
• Sensory circuits are completed across the whole school, in classes or on a 1-1 basis and are available to all pupils as required.
Targeted:
• Modelling and ongoing coaching and support is provided to dedicated education support team’s who take responsibility for supporting individuals who have received OT assessment and personalised sensory lifestyle (diet) plan.
• Sensory equipment is provided to class teams in accordance with their pupil’s sensory report / lifestyle recommendations.
Specialist:
• Identified pupils receive specialist assessment from an OT trained in sensory integration principles in order to identify their individual sensory processing difficulties and preferences.
• The OT develops personalised sensory lifestyle’s (diets) on the basis of this assessment. These lifestyles (diets) are then implemented each day by the dedicated education support teams thereby using a targeted delivery approach (see above) to create a sensory lifestyle for the young person.
Motor Skill Development (including Handwriting)
Whether it’s using various gross motor skills to participate in physical education and playground activities with peers, or applying a range of fine motor skills for handwriting, using cutlery, or tying shoelaces, well-developed motor skills are an important aspect of achievement at school. Occupational therapy service provision will focus on addressing pupil’s difficulties with planning, organising, sequencing, and executing motor movements. These difficulties are often particularly prevalent where there are also sensory processing difficulties.
Addressing Feeding Difficulties
For some children and young people (particularly those with sensory processing difficulties) the self care skill of eating and drinking can be a particular challenge and may lead to significant concerns regarding adequate nutrition. Occupational therapy service provision will focus on assessing the underlying reasons for these difficulties, identifying need for input from other health care professionals, and, where appropriate, developing, and leading intervention plans.
OT team
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Lisa Hamer
Occupational Therapist (Shine Therapy)
Advanced Practitioner in Sensory Integration
Accredited PBS Coach
Advanced SOS Feeding Practitioner
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Sam Fair
Occupational Therapist (Shine Therapy)
Advice for parents
coming soon!
Home tips
coming soon!
Pressure
coming soon!
Sensory processing
coming soon!
Advice for parents
coming soon!
Dressing support
coming soon!
Sleep support
coming soon!
Writing support
coming soon!
Hand strengthening
coming soon!