Swalcliffe Park School

The therapy team is made up of specialists from the following disciplines counselling, education, educational psychology, nursing, occupational therapy, psychiatry and speech and language therapy. We bring our experience, skills and knowledge to Swalcliffe Park School to work jointly with staff for the benefit and well-being of the students. We use a range of assessments and interventions to provide insight into how best to enable the students to reach their academic and social potential. We provide staff training and are available to staff and parents for consultation and advice.

Depending on a student’s needs, we may choose to work directly with him on a 1:1 basis or in a small group. As an example, we may provide direct therapy to improve a student’s expressive language skills. Alternatively, we may observe in class or the care setting and then discuss with the staff how best to work with the young person or group. We also involve students in their own progress and provide them with strategies to manage their behaviour such as teaching them to become aware of their stress levels.

We add value to the school environment by providing a different perspective on the students learning and behaviour.

Some specific examples of the work we do are:

Educational psychology assessment to provide insight into a student’s learning style and preferences in order to inform a further education placement post 18.

Bob has been diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome and is now in his last year at the school. He has been working with the speech and language therapists to improve his expressive language and learn relaxation techniques. Bob reports that his confidence has increased and he is now beginning to use these techniques in different settings. He reports that he is able to express himself more clearly.

An OT assessment has evaluated Simon’s motor, sensory and visual perceptual related skills.  Further to this assessment, advice has been provided about what ‘coping strategies’ Simon will benefit from using in order to help reduce his inappropriate sensory seeking behavior. For example he has been given a chewy tube to provide enhanced sensory oral input to help him focus better during his day.  He has also been recommended to have regular physical movement breaks such as going for a walk or being teacher’s helper, this provides more sensory input to help him stay calm and focused.  In addition to coping strategies, Simon receives direct Occupational Therapy intervention to help to improve his stability and co-ordination skills, which will enable him to participate better in a variety of school and personal activities.

Christine Avis – Educational Psychologist

Chris is a Chartered Educational Psychologist registered with the British Psychological Society. She qualified in 1987 at the Tavistock Clinic in London having spent the previous 5 years as a teacher at the Mulberry Bush School. Chris spent 14 years working for Local Education Authorities as a main grade and Senior/Assistant Principal Educational Psychologist. More recently she has worked as an independent psychologist with a particular focus on supporting youngsters with behaviour difficulties and autistic spectrum disorders.

Chris promotes collaborative working at all times and believes strongly in the power of adults working together with young people to challenge them to achieve positive outcomes. She likes to work in partnership with parents, school staff and other professionals. Chris also works individually with youngsters, observing them in class and assessing their skills and abilities in order to advise on how best to enable them to reach their potential. In addition, using her personal experience from working in a business setting, she supports leadership and management teams develop their effectiveness to the benefit of the overall school.

Maria Bailey – Speech and Language Therapist

Maria is an Independent Speech and Language Therapist (SALT) registered with both the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and the Health Professions Council. She qualified in 1994 at UCE in Birmingham and spent nearly 2 years working for the NHS in Bromley. She went on to spend 4 years working as the sole SALT on the island of St. Lucia in the Caribbean, helping to set up a Child Development Centre, which is still running today. When she came back to the UK, Maria focused on working with students with specific speech and language disorders and spent three years managing a Language Department attached to a mainstream junior school. Many of these children presented with social communication difficulties and autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). She has spent the last three years working mainly with secondary school students with ASD and emotional and behavioural difficulties.

Maria believes that communication is one of the fundamental skills an individual needs in order to progress. Communication skills are required in all aspects of life – daily living skills, building friendships, attaining academic qualifications, literacy, sharing jokes, understanding other people’s behaviour – the list is endless! She aims to raise awareness of students’ difficulties amongst professionals and carers, as well as helping students to gain a more complete understanding of their difficulties. Maria works with students individually as well as in groups, and aims to help create an environment where they can reach their full potential, both academically and socially.

Elaine Humphries – Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist

Elaine is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist who also works part-time in an NHS CAMHS team. She qualified in 1983 from Leicester University Medical School.  Following her pre-registration jobs she worked for one year in hospital Paediatrics before specialising in General Psychiatry obtaining Membership of The Royal College of Psychiatrists in 1988. She then went on to specialise further in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and has worked for many years in NHS CAMHS teams. Elaine’s special interests are Autistic Spectrum Disorder and Attachment difficulties. Elaine recognises the importance of addressing, where this is possible, young people’s mental health problems so as to prevent possible adverse effects on their development and functioning and the ability to reach their educational potential.

Elaine can offer consultation to staff about students who have mental health problems and assess students if necessary in order to increase staff’s understanding of the students’ difficulties and how they are best managed.

Paul Catherall – Speech and Language Therapist

Paul is registered to practise as a Speech and Language Therapist in the UK by the Health Professions Council and is a member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. He also maintains full professional membership and licensure in Canada and the USA. He has a Master’s degree in Linguistics from the University of Alberta and another in Speech Pathology from Dalhousie University in Canada.

Paul has over 25 years of clinical experience and has worked predominantly with children in a variety of settings. He has held clinical positions in a large teaching hospital in Edmonton, Canada; has worked for the Department of Health in Bermuda; and for 15 years was Head of Department at the UK’s largest specialist residential school for pupils with speech, language and communication difficulties. Here, he was a member of the Senior Management Team, led a large team of 19 specialist clinicians and established an Assessment Centre. Alongside his clinical work, Paul has led over 40 presentations at conferences and workshops on assessment and approaches to intervention which he has developed.

He has been a Tutor on Birmingham University’s Distance Education Course in Speech and Language Difficulties and written two of the course texts, and he has been a guest lecturer at several other universities.

Since 2004, Paul has worked mainly as an independent clinician with a focus on assessing the language and communication needs of students with autism spectrum disorders. He has also worked as a field tester on standardisation projects for cognitive and language tests. Assessment of language and communication has been Paul’s main interest throughout his career and he has worked on many assessment teams with professionals from other disciplines. Paul has also spent most of his professional time working in schools, where he has been involved in research projects examining assessment practices and professional collaboration. Despite having assessed hundreds of children over the years, Paul still enjoys the challenge of evaluating a student’s language and communication, and he believes that a comprehensive assessment is essential to understanding and meeting the complex needs of our students.

Jo Adams – Occupational Therapist

Jo is an independent Occupational Therapist (OT) and an OT who, also, currently works in the National Health Service (NHS).  She is registered with the British Association of Occupational Therapists and the Health Professions Council.  She qualified in 1988 at St Loye’s School of Occupational Therapy, Exeter.  Initially, she worked for many years in the NHS with adults – with the following types of difficulty – medical, neurological, orthopaedic and surgical; then she transferred within the NHS to work with children (Paediatrics).   She has gained further experience in paediatrics working with children, with a variety of conditions, in an international school in Singapore, international and community schools in London and working in a children’s therapy clinic specializing in Sensory Integration, in London.  She has recently given up her clinic work, in London, to work with secondary school students with Autistic Spectrum Disorders, and emotional and behavioural difficulties.  As well as working as an independent therapist for many years, she has also continued working part-time in the NHS for many years (in the same position as she currently holds), working with children with developmental and sensory processing issues.

Jo has extensive experience and training in motor skills, visual perceptual skills, visual motor integration skills and sensory processing skills.  Such skills form the foundation from which children develop functional skills, process sensory inputs and help to regulate their attention.  Jo believes there are great benefits to working within an Educational setting, where sessions can be delivered individually or in groups.

Carol Blake – Independent Counsellor

My route into counselling came through nursing and nurse education. The majority of my counselling has been in Primary Care and Employee Assistance work. I have small private practice. I also currently work as the staff counsellor at The Birmingham Women’s NHS Foundation Trust Hospital.

Counselling aims to build a therapeutic relationship based on trust, listening, unconditional regard, empathy, genuineness, a belief in the individual, responsibility taking (theirs and the therapists) and offering choices. It can be used to develop skills and strategies, gain insight, experience something different and develop ones emotional and cognitive world.

Talking to anybody about ourselves and how we feel is a difficult task. This is even more so if these feelings are difficult and we do not fully understand them. Developing emotional skills is a lifetime work and for adolescent boys maybe not top of there list of priorities. As adults what we can do is offer them as many opportunities as possible so they can tap into the resources they need. Counselling can be seen as a resource they could be encouraged to use. It can be useful to introduce it as an extension of a normal process. It will also be useful to emphasise that it is independent and that if they want someone to talk to who is not connected to the school they might find it useful. In my experience it may be useful to mention it to them in the moment of a crisis but more useful to revisit the subject with them in a calmer moment after the event.

The counselling contract for the school is based on the following:

• Boys who attend counselling will do so voluntarily.
• The length of each session will be assessed according to the boy’s needs.
• Confidentiality contracts are made with the boys on the basis that any information included in the session will not be disclosed to anybody. They are told that there are 2 rare exceptions to this and that if they disclose that they themselves are at risk or another person is at risk from harm this will be taken seriously and disclosed to the appropriate people.
• Feedback is given to the Principal of a general nature on session attended and type of work being focussed on e.g. Anxiety management, self esteem work.
• Information shared with the Principal can be passed on to other staff on a need to know basis.
• The school is informed of sessions booked and when they are ended.

Counselling contains any or all of the following in a session:

• Listening
• Clarification
• Reflection
• Empathy
• Acceptance
• Challenge
• Care
• Compassion
• Belief

Counselling does not fit any of the following:

• advice giving
• behaviour control
• a sanction for ‘being bad’
• somebody knowing more than the boy does
• a punishment

‘If you always do what you’ve always done then you’ll always get what you always got’. Counselling offers the possibility of change.

Ben Davis – Massage Therapist

Ben is a massage therapist and chiropractor.  He trained at Premier Training and McTimoney College of Chiropractic respectively.  He is registered with the General Chiropractic Council and runs his own small sports massage and chiropractic clinic located in Culworth, Oxfordshire as well as being an associate at Adderbury Chiropractic Clinic.  Ben qualified in massage therapy in 2007 and later qualified as a chiropractor with a Bsc honours degree from the McTimoney College of Chiropractic.  Ben mainly specialises in neck and back complaints but also addresses other areas of the body.  Ben works in the alternative therapy sector in private healthcare.  His main interests within his field are sporting injuries and sports athletes’ rehabilitation; however he has a widespread interest in the health care of the general public.

Ben enjoys the challenge of working with children who have learning difficulties and assessing how massage, the use of touch and relaxation applied in known areas such as the neck and shoulders can help in their behavioural skills and other aspects of their education.