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

Where the service is located and the areas it covers

The Children’s Occupational Therapy is based at the Child Development Centre at St Ann’s Hospital St Ann’s Road, Tottenham N15 3TH, telephone 020 3224 4769.

The service provides assessment and therapy to children across four distinct services 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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Who our service provides for

The Occupational Therapy Service provides clinical services to children and young people (from birth to 19 years of age) who live in Haringey and who have either complex special needs or difficulties that impact on their ability to function in school, at home or in their social environment. 

Assessments and intervention are done in the most appropriate setting either at St. Ann’s Hospital (Child Development Centre), a Health Centre, at home or in school. 

Referrals are prioritised with the following banding system:

• Band A – Urgent need: These include life threatening and rapid deteriorating conditions, terminal care, referrals from acute hospitals following trauma, acute onset conditions that have a severe impact on function and urgent need for hand splinting. 

For Early Years: children receive early/regular OT input, as needed, on an individual basis.

• Band A – High need: These include prevention of deformity and deterioration of condition, difficulties in daily functioning with risk of injury to child or carer (also including self-harming due to sensory difficulties), complex disabilities that have a severe impact on function, complex special needs requiring equipment access for home and school; and severe difficulties in several functional areas. 
• Band B – medium need: These include significant difficulties across a range of areas including perceptual, self care, developmental coordination, fine motor and severe/complex sensory integration difficulties.
• Band C – low need: These include difficulties in one area e.g. handwriting or toileting difficulties; also mild to moderate sensory difficulties. The provision for this group of children is parent / school training.

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How a child or young person can start using the service

We accept referrals from any medical professional or staff working in education.

There is a waiting time for the service:

• Mainstream service (Band A): approximate waiting time 18 – 20 weeks
• Early Years service (Band A): approximate waiting time 4 – 6 weeks
• Early Years service (Band B): approximate waiting time 8 weeks – 6 months.

There is no charge for the individual service user.

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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 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 services 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 St Ann’s Hospital 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 4769
• 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 4769.

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