Russet House School

Work with Therapists and Other Professionals

At Russet House School our class-based staff work collaboratively with the therapists and a range of additional professionals to provide the best possible support for pupils.

Speech and Language Therapists:

Our Speech and Language Therapy team consists of one part time and one full time Speech and Language Therapist who are funded by the local Health Authority.

All pupils are supported by the Speech and Language Therapy team via delivery of training to staff, communication meetings between the class teacher and the therapist, and by teachers accessing the onsite therapists for advice as needed. At certain points some children may require additional support with their communication. This means they may be seen for additional assessment and/or intervention in class, from one of the Speech and Language Therapists, for a specified time (e.g. once a week for 3-4 weeks).  The Speech and Language Therapists will work closely with the class team to make sure that strategies continue to be used by the class team following assessment / intervention.

Occupational Therapy provision:

At Russet House we use sensory approaches and techniques to help the children to manage their arousal levels and own sensory needs within the school environment. Our Occupational Therapist ensures that all class staff are highly skilled and trained in using these sensory strategies with the children and making sure our classrooms are ‘sensory friendly’.

In addition our Occupational Therapist spends some time in each class at the start of the academic year and again in the spring term; she works alongside class-based staff and recommends strategies to use with specific children. Some children will also have written ‘Sensory Strategies’ for the class staff to use.

Some children may require additional support from the Occupational Therapist to learn to manage their sensory needs and arousal levels in class and so they will be supported in the Sensory Gym for a fixed period of time. Referral for formal one to one Occupational Therapy assessment and treatment are considered once class-based sensory strategies have already been implemented and it is evident that further support is needed.

Work with additional Multi-Agency professionals

The school works closely with numerous additional, external professionals to support the needs of individual pupils. These include Educational Psychologists, clinical psychologists and clinical psychiatrists from the Service for Children and Adolescents for Neuro-developmental disorders (SCAN), the Joint Service for Disabled Children, Children’s Social Care (based at Cheviots Children’s Centre for Disabled Children) and the Community Occupational Therapy Service.