Therapies

At Gosden House, the provision of Therapies to support our children’s development is at the heart of our practice. Over the years we have developed close working relationships with all the therapists attached to the school and staff are experienced and expert in working alongside Speech and Language Therapists, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapists to assess needs, devise programmes and deliver them in an integrated manner into the daily provision for individual children. Where we have felt that we could further enhance provision at any time we have additionally funded therapy provision through employment of therapists, training of staff and also the employment of staff members to support this valuable area of our provision for children.

A message from our Speech and Language Therapy Team (SaLT)

The team is:

Below is some important information about how the service works at Gosden House and what you can expect:

Universal Support – At Gosden House your child’s speech, language and communication support is embedded into the curriculum and throughout the learning day to support all our students. For many children, this level of input is the right level for their particular age and development. A range of strategies are in place across school to further develop speech, language and communication needs. The Speech and Language Therapy team provide training to school staff as required and suggested by Senior Leadership. We also meet with each class teacher once a term to discuss any concerns and make suggestions of ways to support the children more effectively. We work in the classroom as much as possible in order to ensure that we can support pupils with accessing the curriculum and modelling strategies to teachers and staff to use on an ongoing basis.

We can find that on joining the school and as they progress, pupils’ previous EHCP recommendations are no longer appropriate. Therefore, we may look to make changes in order to provide your child with the best communication support whilst they are at Gosden House. We will always discuss this with you and school staff before making any changes.

Class Groups - Each class will receive two blocks of class group sessions across the academic year. These will be a block of six weekly sessions. During these groups, the children complete a range of activities targeted towards the needs of children within the class.

Individual Sessions - Depending on your child’s EHCP, they may attend some individual sessions with a member of the Speech and Language Therapy team.

Please contact us on salt@gosden-house.surrey.sch.uk if you have any questions or concerns. We are also happy to provide ideas of ways that you can support your child’s communication skills to progress. If you would like this, please contact us using the above email address.

Best wishes,

Speech and Language Therapy Team (SaLT)

 

Occupational Therapy (OT) at Gosden

The Occupational Therapy team at Gosden House School aim to provide a service that is integrated throughout the school setting, in partnership with parents, teachers, school staff and other professionals to help children achieve their full potential.

Occupational Therapy is jointly commissioned by Health and Education and are provided by Children and Family Health Surrey (NHS) to meet the Health and Education needs of all children attending Gosden House School, including as outlined in their EHCP. Our NHS Occupational Therapy team consists of specialist Occupational Therapists and highly skilled Occupational Therapy Assistants who are based on site at Gosden House school once a week. Occupational Therapy aims to be holistic and fully embedded into all areas of the curriculum and may include direct or indirect input. We support children in the following ways depending on their need:

Whole class or whole School (universal) input empowers school staff and families to use a range of strategies embedded within daily routines:

• Collaborating with School senior management team, teachers, and staff
• Access to relevant and useful resources including advice sheets, apps, videos and links https://childrenshealthsurrey.nhs.uk/services/occupational-therapy
• Providing training and support to educational staff and families
• Devising therapy programmes to be implemented throughout the school day
• Consultation for the whole school, whole class and families to support specific needs
• Support the school’s development of relevant policies
• Suggest environmental adaptions

Targeted or group input to build school staff and family skills through modelling specialist strategies and delivering programmes:

• Working indirectly to support therapy assistants and class staff to carry out therapy programmes
• Providing focused group support to children and young people with similar needs
• Advice and recommendations (including recommending equipment) regarding activities of daily living e.g. eating and drinking, toileting and managing sensory difficulties
• Liaison with school staff and other professionals

Specialist input for children with specific clinical needs where universal and targeted provision is not sufficient:

• Working directly with children/young people in 1:1, paired or group sessions
• Home visits where indicated
• Assessment of postural needs and any subsequent assessment and provision of specialist seating so the child/young person can access learning in class and mealtimes in the hall
• Supporting participation in daily functional tasks e.g. increasing independence in dressing, personal hygiene or feeding skills and assessment of small pieces of equipment
• Facilitating access to education by supporting the child’s regulation / co-regulation ability with staff
• Liaison with other professionals, providing reports as required (including input into EHCP/annual review reports) and attending relevant meetings

Our Occupational Therapy team has links with Surrey Social Care Occupational Therapists to ensure children’s equipment needs are met at home and school.

THERAPY Special School OT leaflet