Children's Occupational Therapy Service

• Children's Occupational Therapy Service
• Where the service is located and the areas it covers
• How decisions are made about eligibility for our service
• How we communicate with service users and how they are involved in decision-making/planning
• How accessible our service is
• Training our staff have had in supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities
• Who a service user should contact if they want to raise a concern or complain about something
• Who a parent carer/young person can contact for further information

Children's Occupational Therapy Service

The Children's Occupational Therapy Service provides assessment, advice and intervention for children with physical difficulties. It aims to help children achieve or maintain their maximum level of independence and to develop practical life skills so that they can participate to their full potential in the home and classroom environment.

We also provide specific training sessions twice a term, throughout the year for education staff. The following courses are run twice a year:

• Setting up a sensory plan
• Hand skill and gross motor skill development
• How to run gross motor groups at school

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Where the service is located and the areas it covers

The Children’s Occupational Therapy is based at Tynemouth Road Health Centre, 24 Tynemouth Road, Tottenham N15 4RH, telephone: 020 3224 4655.

The service provides assessment and therapy to children across 4 distinct service areas.

These service areas are:

• Child Development Centre for children 0 - 5 years (including the Early Years Service)
• Mainstream Schools Service for children aged 6 - 19 years
• Special Schools Service
• Resource Bases in schools (Heartlands High School, Mulberry Primary School)

Children’s Occupational Therapy (external link).

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How decisions are made about eligibility for our service

Our service provides therapy to children with physical disabilities and complex/severe sensory processing difficulties affecting their everyday function

Referrals are reviewed by the Occupational Therapy operational manager.

If a referral does not meet our criteria we send a letter to the referrer/parent explaining the reason.

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How we communicate with service users and how they are involved in decision-making/planning

Therapy goals are set in collaboration with the child and their caregiver.

We gather feedback from service users (children and parents) through surveys at the end of a therapy block. The feedback is used to make service improvements.

We have a range of service leaflets available to parents.

We use interpreters when required.

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How accessible our service is

Child Development Centre (CDC) at Tynemouth Road Health Centre is on the ground floor and is wheelchair accessible with wheelchair-accessible toilets and treatment rooms. It is a user and child-friendly environment.

Other buildings we work in (e.g. NHS, Local Authority buildings, schools and resource bases) generally comply with the Disability Discrimination Act regulations.

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Training our staff have had in supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities

All of the Occupational Therapists are trained at graduate level and are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). They receive regular training to ensure their knowledge remains up to date.

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Who a service user should contact if they want to raise a concern or complain about something

A service user who wishes to raise a concern or complain about something can contact Amanda Martell, Operational Manager, Occupational Therapy:

• Telephone: 020 3224 4655
• Email: whh-tr.CDCReferrals@nhs.net

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Who a parent carer/young person can contact for further information

If a child is already known to the service and is ‘Active’ within a treatment block, they should contact their named therapist.

If a child is not known to the service or is currently classified as ‘Inactive’, they should call the service on 020 3224 4655.

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