Occupational Therapy (OT)

West Heath School employs a specialist team of onsite Occupational Therapists (OTs), an Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) and Therapeutic Facilitators (TFs) to work across the school day to enable students to participate in daily activities that they want, need or have to do.

Occupational Therapy interventions are integrated across the curriculum to ensure a consistent approach and the ongoing development of skills to maximise potential for learning and independence.

The Occupational Therapy Service aims to support the functional skills, daily independent living skills and sensory regulation strategies of the students that require support within the school. Within our school population this includes tasks such as recording school work (e.g. handwriting/typing), dressing skills (e.g. clothes the right way around/buttons/zips/shoe laces), task participation (e.g. cutlery skills/accessing PE), and the ability to attend and engage to school tasks (e.g. environmental adaptations/movement breaks/understanding own sensory needs).

The team may work with students in a variety of ways e.g., intensively in 1:1 sessions, small groups and directly in the classroom enabling students to develop their motor, sensory and independence skills using a range of specialist approaches.

We have a fully equipped Occupational Therapy room in which to carry out specialist interventions as required.

Occupational Therapists lead on a whole school approach to ensure the students’ sensory needs are met and integrated throughout the school day.