Redhall School has staff visiting from the NHS. Our regular visitors include:
Occupational Therapists
A simple of definition of occupational therapy is that it helps people engage as independently as possible in the activities (occupations) which enhance their health and wellbeing
Redhall benefits from the input of a visiting Occupational Therapist. She helps ensure that each pupil can take part in school and everyday life to the fullest extent possible by providing methods, exercises and equipment to facilitate independence.
Physiotherapists
Physiotherapists help people affected by injury, illness or disability through movement and exercise, manual therapy, education and advice.
– From the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists
Our visiting physiotherapy team provide care, exercise and rehabilition for the pupils at Redhall School to ensure their physical wellbeing.
Speech Language Therapists
Speech and language therapy is concerned with the management of disorders of speech, language, communication and swallowing in children and adults.
From assisting with eating, providing and maintaining communication aids, facilitating social groups to encourage communication and beyond, our Speech Language Therapy team provide a great deal of support and assistance throughout Redhall.
Redhall is a Total Communication school, which means that each pupil is enabled to communicate to the fullest extent, using a variety of means to ensure all communication is inclusive. Pupils may use low-tech options such as using the Picture Exchange Communication System and other symbols or high-tech options including the use of digital communication aids as well as using Signalong throughout the school.
NHS Lothian Speech and Language Therapists support children with speech, language and communication needs across all nurseries and schools in Edinburgh. Every pupil has access to Speech and Language Therapy, should they require it, at any time in their school career.
Therapists will support education staff through discussion, advice and strategies to support communication, language and literacy development in the classroom. Some pupils will require direct therapy either in a one-to-one or group setting. Some pupils will require a more indirect approach. Therapy may be offered on an integrated model where the therapist works collaboratively within the multi-disciplinary team. The therapist will assess what kind of support will be most useful for the pupil and discuss this plan with parents and the multi-disciplinary team. The support offered may change as the child or young person develops or meets different challenges throughout their school careers.
Integrating therapy into school environment
In line with best practice Speech and Language Therapists at Redhall School work closely with the school team throughout each term to support the pupils and help them access the curriculum. This can involve the following:
• Providing ongoing training sessions to all staff, for example SignAlong training.
• Ongoing adaptation of the school visual environment to develop signing skills and use of symbols, song signifiers and visuals.
• Regular meetings with class teams to discuss the progress and challenges of each child.
• Regular meetings with school management to discuss current issues and prioritise the needs of the school.
• Working within the classroom setting to demonstrate speech and language strategies which can be used with the whole class.
• Providing advice and support as to how to create a total communication environment within the school.
Some useful links for more information, including strategies to use at home to support your child’s speech, language and communication development are provided below:
http://www.nhslothian.scot.nhs.uk/Community/EdinburghCHP/Services/Documents/slt_paedsnechp.pdf
http://www.asl.scot.nhs.uk/Resources/ResourceSheets/Pages/Communication.aspx
If you have any questions about your child’s Speech and Language Therapy input or would like to discuss making a referral to Speech and Language Therapy, please phone 0131 443 1256 and ask to speak to the Speech and Language Therapy Team.
Redhall School 