Children's Occupational Therapy
Occupational Therapists provide advice and intervention where needed, for children who have functional difficulties with self-care, classroom activities and leisure. The website and our Facebook page have lots of advice about how to support children and young people to participate in everyday activities at home and at school.
The resources on this site will:
- Help you find out about your child's development
- Give you ideas about how to help your child
- Tell you about services
- Our advice line offers help if you cannot find the information/support you need on this site.
Our services
Our service is available for children aged between 0-18 (19 years in full time education) who are registered with a GP within either Shropshire or Telford and Wrekin geographical boundaries. These are the teams we work in.
Mainstream Team
The mainstream team provide a service for children aged 5 and above that attend mainstream school and who have functional difficulties relating to self-care, classroom activities and leisure that are having an impact on their ability to manage in their daily lives. These difficulties cannot be attributed to significant physical difficulty or general delay.
Physical Disabilities Team
The Physical Disabilities Team provide a service for children aged 5 and over who have a diagnosis of physical disability and requiring functional assessment and advice. The team support children who may need rehabilitation following trauma, deteriorating conditions and children receiving palliative care.
Early Years Team
The Early Years Team support children who are under school age who have identified difficulties with regard to how they function in everyday life. This team also provides input as required into the Multi-disciplinary Assessments at the Child Development Centres.
Learning Disabilities Team
The Learning Disabilities team see children and young people who experience sensory processing and/or complex neurological difficulties affecting their ability to participate in daily living tasks at home or school. The Learning Disabilities Team in Shropshire offer advice and support for children and young people who attend the Bridge School, Severndale School, Haughton and Southall Schools.
Advice Line
We offer an Advice Line service for parents', teachers and education staff, to provide advice on making a referral to the service and for general queries regarding sourcing equipment or activity ideas relating to children's occupations. Please see Contact Us box at the top of the page for further details.
Sensory Difficulties
As occupational therapists we know that sensory needs can affect children’s participation in the activities they need, want or are expected to do but there are different ways to address these. The Royal College of Occupational Therapists' position is that sensory approaches that help children and young people manage their sensory needs by modifying the task and /or environment are a better fit with our occupational focus than approaches that attempt to change the person. We offer a range of online resources and parent training workshops to help support parents', carers and educational settings gain a better understanding of a child's sensory difficulties and needs.
We have a range of sensory resources for parents and professionals you may find useful including our Introduction to Sensory Processing videos.
New patients
We operate an an open referral system for children between the ages of 0 to 18, and accept referrals from parents, school or any other professionals, but parents must always provide their consent to referral. Please see our referral form and guidelines in the referral form section on the right.
Existing patients
Existing patients can contact us directly for help and support. We are able to discuss any difficulties up to one year after discharge, by telephone (01743 450800) or via email to our advice line at (shropcom.OT4kids@nhs.net).
Services we do not offer
- We do not provide: equipment for home, adaptations of the home environment, assessment for dyslexia or services for adults.
- We do not provide wheelchairs. Please see link to Shropshire Wheelchair and Posture Services page.
Frequently asked questions
- How long will it be before my child is assessed?
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Please see the Waiting Time Calculator box
- What happens at the assessment?
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During your initial assessment session, an Occupational Therapist will observe and complete a variety of activities with your child, related to their area of functional difficulty. They will then discuss with you the next steps which may be: advice, further assessment, treatment sessions or discharge.
- Can I refer my child myself?
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Yes. We operate an open referral system. Please see the Referral Form in the referral form section, in the right hand column.
- How long will the assessment take?
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We usually allocate 1.5 to 2 hours for the assessment. This gives us time to complete standardised assessments and discuss your concerns.
- What happens if my child is discharged?
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We can be contacted by telephone to discuss any concerns, please see the Contact Us box on the top right of this page. Alternatively send an e-mail to our advice line email to book a return call shropcom.OT4kids@nhs.net
If you do need to re-refer, please use the referral form in the Patient Information section.
- Who can I contact regarding housing adaptations?
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Adaptations to housing, or the loan of relevant equipment is dealt with by the Occupational Therapists on the Social Care Team. They can be contacted on the following numbers:
- Telford - via Family Connect 01952 385385
- Shropshire - via First Point of Contact 0345 678 9021
Contact us
Contact us
Shropshire
Coral House
11 Longbow Close
Harlescott Lane
Shrewsbury
SY1 3GZ
Tel:01743 450800
Email: shropcom.OT4kids@nhs.net
Telford
Stepping Stones
Malinslee
Telford
Tel:01952 567351
Email: shropcom.OT4kids@nhs.net
Advice Line
Families and professionals can contact the service, to ask for advice or find out more by contacting our Advice Line:
Tel: 01743 450800
Email: shropcom.OT4kids@nhs.net
Referral Form
Please find a copy of our referral form below, by clicking on the link. Parents, Education and Professionals can refer to our service with parental consent to do so.
Waiting Times
Child Development Timeline
All children develop at their own pace, for a variety of reasons. The link provided by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, shows a approximate timescale for child development skills.
Who are we?
Occupational Therapists are 'Allied Health Professionals' and are governed by two organisations.
The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), all Occupational Therapists must be registered with this organisation in order to practice as a qualified Occupational Therapist and ensure continuous professional development.
The Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) is our professional body and provides us with our identity and helps us to expand our clinical knowledge. Both qualified Occupational Therapists and our Support Workers can be members of this body, and follow its Professional Standards for Occupational Therapy Practice, Conduct and Ethics.
The role of the Occupational Therapist is to enable children and young people to function to the best of their ability. Occupational Therapists provide advice for children whose ability to carry out functional skills is compromised.
We are a team of 15 qualified therapists and 2 support workers, who we refer to as Technical Instructors.
This service is provided for the whole of Shropshire county, including Telford and Wrekin residents.
Useful links
- IASS Telford (Information Advice and Support Services)
- IASS Shropshire (Information Advice and Support Services)
- Autism West Midlands
- Dyspraxia Foundation
- Mencap Charity for children with Learning Disabilities
- Telford and Wrekin SEND Local Offer
- Shropshire SEND Local Offer
Patient Information
Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) and our "Local Offer"
What is the Local Offer?
The local offer provides information for children and young people with special educational needs (SEND) and their parents or carers in a single place. You can find out more about information about this on our SEND reforms and Local Offers page.
SEND/Local Offer information
Full SEND and Local Offer details are located elsewhere:
The Children's Occupational Therapy team work across all of Telford and Wrekin and Shropshire, we work closely with partners in both Local Authorities and across the wider children’s workforce, to identify, assess and support children and young people with functional difficulties that affect their daily lives.
In line with the Children and Families Act 2014 each local authority has a Local Offer which aims to bring together useful information across education, health and social care in one place for children and young people, their families, and for professionals. You can find information, advice and guidance, and a range of local service providers who support children and young people aged 0-25 years with SEND.
Please click here to access the Telford and Wrekin SEND Local Offer
Please click here to access the Shropshire SEND Local Offer
Please click here for further information on the trust’s local offer for children and young people with SEND (https://www.shropscommunityhealth.nhs.uk/send-local-offer )
Who can use our service? Age? Disability?
Our service is available for children aged between 0-18 years (19 years if in full time education) who are registered to a GP within either Shropshire or Telford and Wrekin geographical boundaries. The service is offered to all children and young people regardless of ethnic, cultural, spiritual, gender and disability backgrounds.
How to access our service (inc. referral routes)
We operate an open referral system. We accept referrals from parents, school or any other professional with parents’ consent for children between the ages of 0 to 18.
We ask that all referrals are made using our referral form which is available from our administration teams or can be downloaded from our website.
Existing patients can contact us directly for help and support. We are able to discuss any difficulties up to one year after discharge, by telephone (01743 450800) or via email to our advice clinic ( shropcom.OT4kids.nhs.net )
When and where is our service available?
The service is currently open 8.30am to 5pm Mondays- Fridays except Bank Holidays. Our Main Bases are listed in our "Contact us" section of this page (right-hand column).
Clinics are held across the different venues on different days of the week; a full list of these clinic spaces is shown in the "Where are we?" section of this page (right-hand column).
Our Occupational therapists work in schools and various community settings. Parents may be asked to travel to clinics or schools for appointments. They may visit children, young people and their carers/families at home to monitor their progress or provide interventions.
How can families contact the service?
Families can contact the service to ask for advice or find out more about what we provide by contacting our Advice Clinic:
- Tel: 01743 450 800
- Email: shropcom.OT4kids@nhs.net
Interpreters are available for assessments of children and young people if either they or their main carers do not speak English or if they use other means of communication such as signing.
Feedback and Complaints
The service receives feedback from parents, partners and children and young people in the following ways:
- audit of feedback questionnaires following treatment sessions
- care planning and goal setting review
- sharing and learning from informal comments, complaints and compliments.
Wherever possible, complaints are dealt with verbally and locally with clinical staff, clinical leads and managers. If you have any questions of concerns talk with your child’s Occupational Therapist.
Shropshire Community Health Trust has a dedicated Patient Liaison Service (PALS) and a Complaints Manager who are both available to be contacted for support. A link for further details about these services may be found in the relevant section below.
For external agencies: is the service free or charged?
Currently support for individual children is free. Charges may be made for training.
Is the service accredited? If so, by whom?
Care Quality Commission
How can families complain if they are not happy with the service?
All complaints are handled by our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) and Complaints teams.