Occupational Therapy in Education

Owl Centre Occupational Therapists work with children and young people across a wide range of educational settings (both mainstream and special schools), ranging from early years up to university students, with the aim of removing or reducing barriers to learning, improving participation and wellbeing, allowing the young people to reach their full potential.

Occupational Therapists help students engage in everyday school activities, such as writing, developing focus and attention skills, organisational skills, and accessing PE, as well as play activities. They do this by addressing any physical, sensory, and cognitive needs that the student may have.

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Benefits of Occupational Therapy

Having consistent Occupational Therapy provision within a school can have a transformative impact on school life, such as in the following areas:

Early Intervention

By identifying needs and addressing difficulties early, Occupational Therapists can prevent issues from escalating, and reduce the need for more intensive interventions later on in the young person’s life.

Empowering Staff

Providing training and consultation to teachers, SENDCos, and support staff, enabling them to adapt their learning environments and teaching strategies to support the diverse needs of the young people they work with.

Enhancing School Readiness

Supporting life skills such as organisation, self-care, transitions between activities or settings, and other areas which are essential for success both at school and elsewhere.

Inclusion

Whole-school strategies (such as the provision of specialist and setting-specific advice around the creation of an accessible neurodiverse environment) which can make the school environment more inclusive and supportive for all students.

Integration

Occupational Therapists can provide vital support to young people who might otherwise struggle to integrate within the mainstream environment.

Addressing Behavioural Presentation

Identifying and meeting previously unmet sensory needs can reduce behavioural issues, if these were caused by a young person not being able manage in their environment.

Positive School Culture

An Occupational Therapist can support social-emotional learning and a positive school culture where all community members are able to identify their needs and work towards having them met.

Occupational Therapy Strategies

Integrating Occupational Therapy across all areas of school life can support young people with needs in these areas to generalise skills from the therapy setting to other situations.

Reduce Stigma

Embedding an Occupational Therapist as a key part of the school team can increase inclusion, reduce stigma for children with occupational therapy needs, and increase the level of understanding of such needs among their peers.

EHCP Documentation and Annual Reviews

Having an Occupational Therapist at school, with an in-depth knowledge of the needs of their caseload, can ensure efficient and effective contributions and support with EHCP and annual review documentation.

Supporting Mental Health and Wellbeing

Contributing to emotional regulation, resilience, and coping strategies for all members of the school community, but especially young people with sensory processing difficulties or anxiety.

Areas of need:

Occupational Therapists can provide assessment, diagnosis, and support for young people with a wide range of needs, such as:

Balance and coordination
Cognitive development
Fine motor skills
Gross motor skills
Motor development and motor planning
Visual processing skills

Executive functioning skills – organization, attention, working memory, planning, prioritisation, impulse control, and other skills
Sensory processing
Self-regulation
Emotional regulation
Social and emotional skills
Social participation

Postural support needs, functional skills, seating as well as other specialist equipment
Feeding and oral motor skills
Independent self-care skills i.e. toileting and dressing
Environmental adaptations
Safety in the home and community

How we work

Within an educational setting, an Occupational Therapist can work in a number of different contexts:

One-to-one sessions with individual pupils
Small group sessions for a few pupils with similar needs
In-classroom support
Providing training to staff on a wide range of occupational therapy needs (including troubleshooting a pupil’s individual needs, as well as providing general training on a particular topic)
Working with senior leadership staff to optimise occupational therapy aspects of a school’s environment throughout the setting

An Owl Centre Occupational Therapist will often work within a three-tiered model of support:

Universal

Providing whole-school strategies such as training staff on sensory-friendly classrooms, promoting good posture and handwriting, and supporting emotional regulation.

Targeted

Providing group interventions for students with emerging needs (e.g. fine motor skills, attention difficulties).

Specialist

Providing individualised assessments and interventions for students with complex or diagnosed needs.

Occupational Therapy Packages

The Owl Centre is happy to work flexibly and create a bespoke package to ensure you and your school get the level of support that is right for you. Options include:

Regular therapist visits (weekly or fortnightly, half-termly or termly)

Block input (e.g. for a term at a time)

Individual therapy, small groups, in-class support.

EHCP-focussed intervention

Regulation (sensory) plans and classroom adaptations.

We are also able to provide a number of other services, such as: