Future Steps ConsultancyChildren and Adults Occupational Therapy

Mrs Julie Davis Managing Director

At Marchbank SchoolBarnes RoadDarlington

County DurhamDL3 9BL

Phone01325 254688/254689Mobile 07525133985

Email: admin@futurestepsconsultancy.co.uk

Website: www.futurestepsconsultancy.co.uk

1TTOTS Consultancy Trading as Future Steps Company Registration No. 8571206

S – Striving

T – Therapeutically for

E – Educational

P – Progress &

S – future Success

FUTURE STEPS has been established to provide specialist occupational therapy services to children and adults. The Consultancy began as TTOTS however over time it has now become known as Future Steps after requests from our clients over the confusion of similar named companies.

As a specialised service we understand the changes that are upon us when delivering occupational therapy. As a result we want to continue our excellent outcomes by providing alternative services and treatments to schools, families, adults, charities and professional organisations.

We are able to provide a variety of services developed by years of clinical experience and expertise. Treatments and programmes have been tailored to ensure the individuals educational and developmental stages are met.

The consultancy is divided into 5 component areas:

Training for parents and professionals Treatment via school based programmes Consultancy to education, professional organisations to include charities and looked after

services Private Clients Bespoke services to special schools

We offer intervention to children and adults, altering their ability to function in aspects of their daily life and improve their academic performance.

2TTOTS Consultancy Trading as Future Steps Company Registration No. 8571206

Consultation Service

We are innovative and forward thinking

In this ever changing climate of health care provision organisations may benefit from our specialist skills; as a result of restrictions in Occupational Therapy and children’s services.

FUTURE STEPS is a unique and dynamic service working with many schools, families and charities across the country.

In May 2013 after working in the health and private sector, I developed the concept of FUTURE STEPS Consultancy. A service that would offer private and school based occupational therapy tailored to individualised needs.

Sensory and motor development is essential for learning, and therefore any individual that has a deficit in these areas or has a diagnosis of DCD, Autism, ADHD or Sensory Processing Disorder will struggle to attain in the educational, work and home setting. Therefore it is vital we develop the motor and sensory systems to provide the building blocks that will become the basis for development as visual perception, emotional growth, academic learning and behaviour are all dependent upon the sensory motor foundation stages.

Schools, organisations, charities and families that employ our services have reported back to us that they have seen an overall 20% improvement in the children’s educational attainment.

Impact on Children

By offering early intervention to children that present with motor co-ordination and sensory processing disorders, you will alter their home and school performance seeing an improvement in:

Attention-control Understanding and the enjoyment of

learning Handwriting Organisation Perception Ability to sit and attend Ability to listen in various settings

Behaviour Social interaction and relationships

with peers, siblings and parents and staff

Remembering instructions Reading, writing, spelling and Math Enjoyment of learning Succeeding and raising self esteem

3TTOTS Consultancy Trading as Future Steps Company Registration No. 8571206

4TTOTS Consultancy Trading as Future Steps Company Registration No. 8571206

Our Philosophy

Is to ensure the child grows in terms of their emotional, psychological, educational, physical and functional wellbeing to reach their full potential.

Progress & Attainment

Pupil Premium & Vulnerable

Children

Leadership & Management

EYFS

ECM

Attendance &

Behaviour

SEAL

Safeguarding

Sensory integration functions develop in a

natural order and every child follows the same basic pattern. The child

uses each activity to develop “building blocks” that become the basis for

more complex development.

FUTURE STEPS primary goals are to educate, assess, and provide

programme’s for the child, to allow

therapeutic success so the child can develop

and achieve educationally.

Sensory lifestyle activities will impact

on the child’s behaviour to prevent

them displaying negative behaviours

By developing children’s motor and sensory systems it provides the foundation for

learning. Allowing children to achieve educational success

by assisting in the development of their

perceptual understanding.

By running our programmes you will see a huge

improvement in the child’s motor skills, sensory

processing of information, behaviour, attention, pre writing and handwriting

ability. This allows the child to meet their expected levels of

attainment.

Visual perception, emotional growth,

academic learning and behaviour are all

dependent upon the sensory motor

foundation.

FUTURE STEPSImpact

The achievement of pupils

The quality of teaching

The behaviour

and safety of pupils

The quality of leadership

and management

Services for School

Currently some of the schools we are working with are;

Ash Trees Acre Riggs Academy Borough Road Nursery Burnside Primary School Breckenbrough Chilton Primary School ECCDS Heighington Primary School Gurney Pease St Wilfreds Ludworth Primary School

Marchbank Free School Seaview Primary School Skerne Park Primary School Springfield Academy St John’s Church of England Primary

School Silver Tree Federation of Abbey Schools Victoria Lane Primary School Willington Primary School Woodlands Primary School

We have a proven track record in delivering high quality services to education and professionals countywide. Our extensive knowledge has made us aware that our services are vital to ensure children with any difficulties are not overlooked. Therefore by providing a range of services we will be able to offer assessments, solutions, and strategies to ensure children have the best possible outcomes with regards their difficulties and education.

As organisations you will be able to buy a range of services as listed below:

Screening assessments Motor Assessments Handwriting/Perceptual assessment Handwriting Programmes Screening Tools to allow staff to qualify if a child needs further support Classroom observations Sensory Lifestyle to assist behaviour and attention in school and the home Recommendations Strategies – home and school Programmes – group and individual. FUTURE STEPS Occupational Therapy staff to run the

treatments within the school if needed Therapeutic listening programmes Review visits that are supportive and non-judgmental Training for staff and parents to run and understand the principles of our programmes Handwriting Screening Clinics Handwriting Manuals Individualised treatments in the FUTURE STEPS Clinic where schools can choose to send a

child/group for treatments.

5TTOTS Consultancy Trading as Future Steps Company Registration No. 8571206

Assessments

Additional Need Schools

FUTURE STEPS can assess the sensory/motor needs of children with additional learning difficulties in the school setting. Often children with pronounced difficulties can present with challenging behaviours. Our role is to identify any underlying sensory/motor cause to these, and the child’s difficulties and to provide training, programmes and intervention in the school setting.

Mainstream

The assessment takes place within the educational setting using a range of standardised measures along with Sensory Integration clinical observations and profiles if required. The school can ask for a single assessment or several depending what you require. This can be completed in a short period of time, therefore you are no longer waiting for weeks to see an occupational therapist. Reports are generated quickly specifying the recommendations to assist staff in their management of the child.

Screening Tools

FUTURE STEPS have formulated screening tools for EYFS, KEY stage 1 and Key Stage 2 which can be used to identify the child who requires intervention, and also as a monitoring tool to show improvement in the child linking to the curriculum and the outcomes of the intervention.

Motor Skills Training

A full day /2 Half Days/Twilight training is offered to staff to support the programmes and to fit in to your timetable.

The purpose is to:

Understand motor/sensory processing Educate staff on the child’s sensory processing and how it affects the child’s behaviour and

educational progress Understand and introduce appropriate activities to diminish behavioural outburst, to assist

the child’s self-regulation and attention control Go through in detail how to run and implement the motor skills programme with

educational staff and children

6TTOTS Consultancy Trading as Future Steps Company Registration No. 8571206

Motor Skills Programme Manuals

The 36 week programmes work developmentally to improve the child’s performance in every aspect of their life. Without development of the child’s motor and sensory systems they will always struggle to process, learn and remain focused in the educational setting. By integrating our programmes you will be providing the child with success, helping them to reach their full potential.

Consultations take place termly so the programmes can be monitored along with the child’s development.

Manuals will provide a step by step guide of how to deliver the programme. These are designed in line with the curriculum providing therapy time to children following programmes with successful outcomes in line with school targets.

Running Treatments

FUTURE STEPS Therapy staff can be allocated to run the programme with a designated member of the educational staff if the school requires. If you decide to run the programmes yourself in house we will come in to school at the start up point to support the staff and give them the confidence to run the sessions making sure you have the greatest impact on the children'

The treatments are designed in line with the curriculum providing therapy time to children following programmes with successful outcomes in line with school targets.

Review Visits

Review appointments within school to monitor the progress of the programme and advise and educate staff further on any difficulties they are encountering. The school will then have the information to show what impact the programmes have had on the progress and attainment of the children within school. The reviews are supportive and non-judgemental and we work with staff to make improvements if they are required.

These can take place as the school feels appropriate for their needs.

Training for Education, Parent and Health Professionals

Individuals can attend our in house full, half days or twilight training courses or FUTURE STEPS can deliver the training for all staff and parents within the school environment.

These include the following topics:

Handwriting Visual perception Motor Skills ( to accompany the manuals and as a refresher course) DCD/Dyspraxia/ADHD/Autism the effect on function/behaviour and engagement

7TTOTS Consultancy Trading as Future Steps Company Registration No. 8571206

Sensory Integration and The Effect of Poor Sensory Processing Negative Behaviours in school – the sensory perspective as to why they occur and strategies

to alter behaviour

Our training involves:

In-depth user friendly information Practical sessions to assist learning Strategies to assist the child Take home manuals with relevant activities

Handwriting Clinics

The therapist will attend the school and assess and screen the children presenting with handwriting difficulties which are effecting the production and quality of their recording.

The following areas will be assessed:

Posture Upper limb stability Grip Dominance Letter and number formation Areas of perception that are effecting the child Areas of pain and discomfort

It takes approximately 10/15 minutes per child (therefore in one hour we should see a minimum of 5 children).

OutcomeAfter completion of the assessment the therapist will advise the educational staff what the child’s areas of difficulties are, and what strategies/activities need to be conducted to ensure the child progresses in this area.

A mini report can be produced if required for the child’s Education Healthcare Plan.

Occupational Therapist Block Bookings

As you are aware we are always adapting to the needs of our schools and we want to make sure that we have the greatest impact on the children.

We can now also offer schools mornings or afternoons (3 hours) where a fully qualified occupational therapist will be in your school and can offer the following:

Run the motor skills programmes required across year groups requiring intervention during the term/year.

8TTOTS Consultancy Trading as Future Steps Company Registration No. 8571206

Assisting and setting up new groups and additional training and support to all staff running motor skills programmes

Observation assessments in class One to one programmes for more complex children Sensory life style programmes to assist attention control and behaviour Short sensory profiles and feedback Perceptual assessment and reports. One to one treatments and programmes. Additional training of staff. Handwriting screening assessments and reports. Handwriting groups and any other requirements you need as a school from an occupational

therapist. General advice and support across the school

As a school you can chose the frequency and length of this support. You may want the therapists in once or twice a week, for a full year or for a term or even alternate weeks etc. We would again adapt this to fit your requirements and needs to make sure we have the greatest impact on the children and staff within your school.

The only aspect/area it will not cover is for a full assessment. However if we assess a child within your time we would discount the time and money already paid off the invoice for a full assessment.

Handwriting Manuals –The Earth Handwriting Programme

There are 3 manuals to cover EYFS, Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2The aim of the manuals is to ensure all children with poor upper limb stability, weak in-hand manipulation skills and restricted grip styles are proficient in the art of handwriting.

The programme is set over twelve weeks and can be completed 2/3 times to ensure the child develops in the following areas:

Development of the upper limb Development of the hand arches and muscles Development perception Development of letter formation

The programme has been developed to ensure the child never has to leave the classroom environment or their chair in order to perform the component parts of this programme. It is structured into upper limb activities; hand activities; patterns and letters formation. This ensures the child develops all the foundations needed for handwriting.

9TTOTS Consultancy Trading as Future Steps Company Registration No. 8571206

Therapeutic Listening Programme

The existing body of research on Therapeutic Listening presents positive findings regarding the use of Therapeutic Listening as a treatment tool embedded in a sensory integrative treatment approach. The studies identify multiple positive gains including improved attention, handwriting, ability to perceive and move through space, enhanced interaction with peers, greater ability to attend to and follow directions, improved sleep and wake cycles, and enhanced communication.

At FUTURE STEPS we can provide these very specialised and individulaised listening programmes to be rented for 12 weeks. We will provide the MP3 player (with headphones) and a specialised programme bespoke to the child’s needs. The tracks will be changed every 2 weeks so in total the programme covers 6 CD’s. Commonly reported changes are:

Home/School Changes

Improved social interactions Improved communication skills Enhanced ability to focus Ability to make transitions or changes

in routine easier Increased engagement in the world Improvements in sleeping Toilet training/cessation of bed wetting

Regulation of hunger and thirst cycle regularity

Regulation of mood and energy level Improved ability to respond to sounds

and verbal directions Increased participation in and

exploration of playground equipment (swings, slides, climbing structures)

10TTOTS Consultancy Trading as Future Steps Company Registration No. 8571206

Private Services for Children and Adults

Private Clients - Making our services fit your lifestyle and needs. As a children and adult occupational therapy service, we now offer the following:

Assessments which are available after school, work and on weekends. Assessments and treatments can be carried out in the home, school or

consultancy clinic. Reports and face to face (or telephone) discussions regarding the individuals

assessment and programmes. Treatments: intensive packages during school holidays, sensory integration, gross

and fine motor skills, handwriting and perception will all be developed. Post treatment individuals/ parents/carers will receive programmes to follow on and to be used at home.

School and home programme training for educational staff, in order to continue the support and development of your child.

Parent Training to ensure you have the knowledge to support your child, also with continued telephone support.

11TTOTS Consultancy Trading as Future Steps Company Registration No. 8571206

The STEPS Programme in collaboration with Marchbank School

This is a specialised intense educational (Marchbank School) and therapeutic intervention (FUTURE STEPS) programme to enable a child to return to their host school. The placement will be for 6 – 12 weeks. The STEPS Programme offers places on a rotational basis for children who are not coping or have been excluded who have significant sensory processing needs resulting in negative behaviours.

(Please note that a pure therapeutic model can also be offered – please ask for details)

It will; Reduce challenging behaviour in the classroom. Develop the sensory system’s effecting the child’s presentation. Provide an integrated approach and strategies so the child can succeed when returning to

their host school. Improve engagement, motivation, behaviour and educational success by unleashing the

child’s true potential. Successful outcomes by combining the expertise of Marchbank and FUTURE STEPS

The STEPS Programme ensures a smooth transition into mainstream setting; enabling continuation of intervention to take place via programmes, training and effective communication with parents and the professionals involved. The host school, parents/carers are all an integral part of this process.

The structure is a therapeutic programme for the child, which will include the following:

1. Contact FUTURE STEPS for discussion and meeting2. Referral forms completed3. If child is accepted within the STEPS programme an assessment will take place.4. Child begins placement with collaboration between FUTURE STEPS, Marchbank School, host

school and family. Once daily- SI and motor skills intervention for the duration of their placement at

Marchbank. Sensory life style activities will be introduced both at home and school, and used

throughout their time at Marchbank. These activities will alter the child’s modulation difficulties, and therefore behavioural responses.

Sensory/motor skills training for education staff from the child’s host school.5. Programmes and visits to host school to reintegrate child back into their school.6. FUTURE STEPS will continue to work with school in those initial 3 weeks to make sure the

transition is supported.

Please contact FUTURE STEPS if you wish further details on the STEPS Programme.

12TTOTS Consultancy Trading as Future Steps Company Registration No. 8571206

Individual Treatments in FUTURE STEPS Clinic

Schools may decide that they would prefer to send a child to FUTURE STEPS for treatment. At present some schools have felt that they would see a greater benefit if a child is brought in to our environment for one to one treatments in our SI treatment room. We will work with schools to make sure your needs and the child’s requirements are fulfilled.

Please contact FUTURE STEPS if you wish further details on the individualised treatments

Please do not hesitate in contacting us to discuss any of the areas.

“We are delighted to be working with Future Steps Consultancy again this year. The team deliver a high quality, bespoke programme that identifies barriers to learning and improves gross and fine

motor co-ordination difficulties, supporting our pupils to have the best possible educational outcomes. Our staff receive advice and training on how best to support children in class and during PE lessons. We have seen significant improvements in pupils’ physical development, concentration, organisational skills and writing – we would recommend Future Steps to all who are interested in

development of children’s fundamental skills.” Lisa Jenkins – Deputy Head Teacher Skerne Park Academy

“St. John’s Church of England Primary School in Shildon, has been working with Future Steps (TTOTS) for the last year. They developed an early intervention support programme for pupils with identified Developmental Coordination Difficulties (DCD). As a school we see these difficulties for many pupils

entering our Early Years setting and know the impact this has on their future learning. The aim of the project is to reduce the long-term difficulties in children’s ability to access the curriculum, because of their DCD, and be effective learners. Future Steps complete detailed assessments on individual pupils; provide a detailed programme of activities and then work with school staff on the delivery. The work

is integrated into the overall curriculum for pupils from Nursery to Year 2. Partnership work with parents is also included. The pupils thoroughly enjoy all tasks in each session. Teachers and parents

see the improvements in attitudes to learning and performance. We have received consistently positive outcomes and continue to seek new opportunities to develop the provision.”

Andrew Farnell Head Teacher St Johns Church of England School

“Great Training Course – I feel excited about making a massive difference to these children. The first time in a long while I know I will leave here and put ideas into practice from Day 1”

E. Patterson Chilton Primary School

13TTOTS Consultancy Trading as Future Steps Company Registration No. 8571206

Julie Davis BHSc COT Managing Director FUTURE STEPS Consultancy At Marchbank SchoolBarnes RoadDarlingtonCounty DurhamDL3 9BLTel: 01325 254688 OR 254689Mobile 07525133985admin@futurestepsconsultancy.co.ukwww.futurestepsconsultancy.co.uk

14TTOTS Consultancy Trading as Future Steps Company Registration No. 8571206