About
Why Occupational Therapy in Schools?
At Healing Hands we have identified (from years of observations and providing support to schools) that there is a very identifiable, growing crisis in the classrooms across the country that we are able to alleviate via our profession of Occupational Therapy.
The crisis at hand concerns the ever growing and large volume of children with neurological conditions (ASD, ADHD, Intellectual Disability, Specific Learning Disorders (SLD), Communication Disorders, etc) both diagnosed and undiagnosed in mainstream classrooms. In an average class of 26.6 children there is 1 child with an EHCP and about 3 children with neurological conditions who do not have an EHCP in place. Left unattended this leads to classroom disruption, reduced academic performance for all children and increased staff tension.
Occupational Therapy is a proven intervention strategy to effectively address these issues.
How OT Supports Children
• Helps with focus and attention
• Builds confidence with handwriting and fine motor tasks
• Supports emotional regulation and reduces frustration
• Aids transitions and classroom participation
How OT Supports School Staff
• Helps with in class strategies and advice
• Equipped with knowledge and understanding
• Less dysregulated and more competent children lead to greatly reduced disruption and stress on teaching staff
• Allows teacher to give better attention to the whole class
How OT Benefits the Schools
• Better access to learning
• More inclusive classrooms
• Improved academic Progress
• Staff confidence and Retention
• Reduced SENDCO and TA load
• Better OFSTED and parent relations
Why Use Private OT’s
Private OTs are typically not bound by large bureaucracy, meaning more face-to-face time for:
- Direct intervention
- Observations in real classrooms
- Strategy modelling for staff
🔁 Private OTs spend more time treating, less time reporting and provide ongoing support