Student education
This has the potential to prevent future referrals to occupational therapy and other specialist services by providing timely interventions to meet the needs of a wider range of pupils .
Working collaboratively with families
Throughout the placement and during the evaluation stage of the project the need for further collaboration with families was highlighted as an area for further exploration .
The students and education staff identified that the students had had limited opportunity to develop collaborative links with families and proposed that this would be an important consideration in any new service development .
Evidencing the advantages of collaborative working
In conclusion , this collaborative , student placement project aimed to explore and evaluate the potential scope for and added value of providing a tiered occupational therapy service delivery model within an education setting .
Further evaluation of this service model is required to understand its effect on children and their development , as well as the impact on the expansion of education and therapists ’ knowledge , understanding and skills .
As a project it required considerable investment from education staff , ABUHB occupational therapists , research and development , Cardiff University and four final year occupational therapy students .
But in doing so , it has evidenced the many advantages of working collaboratively to explore new ways of working .
It has highlighted that if intervention is to be moved out of health settings to empower those most proximal to the child , then service delivery needs to be co-designed and evaluated with a range of stakeholders to ensure that the Welsh Government ’ s ( 2018 ) aim of offering a seamless service to children and their families can be achieved ethically and effectively .
Missiuna C et al ( 2012 ) Partnering for change : An innovative school-based occupational therapy service delivery model for children with developmental coordination disorder . Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy , 79 , 41-50 .
Missiuna C et al ( 2015 ) Partnering for change : Embedding universal design into school-based occupational therapy . Occupational Therapy Now , 17 ( 3 ): 13-15 .
Missiuna C et al ( 2017 ) Using an innovative model of service delivery to identify children who are struggling in school . British Journal of Occupational Therapy , 80 ( 3 ): 145-154 .
Royal College of Occupational Therapists ( 2019 ). Occupational therapy : unlocking the potential of children and young people . Available at : www . rcot . co . uk / promoting-occupationaltherapy / occupational-therapy-improving-livessaving-money [ Accessed 26 November 2021 .
Pollock N et al ( 2017 ) Supporting occupational therapists implementing a capacity-building model in schools . Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy , 84 ( 4-5 ): 242-252
Welsh Government ( 2018 ) Additional Learning Needs and Education Tribunal ( Wales ) Act . Online . Available at : https :// gov . wales / additionallearning-needs-and-education-tribunal-wales-act [ Accessed 27 January 2022 ].
Welsh Government ( 2020 ) Additional Learning Needs Transformation Plan . Online . Available at : https :// gov . wales / sites / default / files / publications / 2020-09 / additional-learningneeds-aln-transformation-programme-guide . pdf [ Accessed 29 October 2021 ]
Words SHARON SYMONDS , Professional Head Occupational Therapist for Children ’ s and Young People ’ s Occupational Therapy Services , Aneurin Bevan University Health Board ; KERRI EVANS , Occupational Therapist , Clinical Strategic Lead Occupational Therapist for ASD , Aneurin Bevan University Health Board ; SALLY SCOTT-ROBERTS , Professional and Course Lead , Occupational Therapy , School of Care Science , University of South Wales ( formerly Occupational Therapy Lecturer , School of Healthcare Sciences at Cardiff University ). With thanks to Torfaen Education Authority , the education staff , occupational therapy educators and the occupational therapy students who worked so hard on this project . Sharon . symonds @ wales . nhs . uk
July 2022 OTnews 47