Therapy at Linden Lodge School

Linden Lodge provides an integrated model of Therapy and Education.

The therapy team is an integral part of the holistic, collaborative and effective approach to supporting our Students.

Linden Lodge is fortunate enough to have a team of Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists and Speech and Language Therapists on site, at all times, available for routine input as well as providing a hugely responsive and timely support when and where needed.

This fluid coverage also enables us to have a continued conversation with the Education team, working together proactively to adapt and jointly plan and create a nurturing and appropriate environment for our students.

Our team of Therapists are led by a Head of Therapies, a Specialist leads for each area and made up of a number of senior and junior specialist Paediatric Therapists.
These therapists hold a strong repertoire of skills being able to support with knowledge and expertise, Students with a range of needs including sensory, including visual, auditory and processing, physical, communication and dysphagia needs.

Therapy Provision

The enhanced support from our Therapists, alongside our integrated model, aims to optimise the Student’s education outcomes through programmes that facilitate accessing education while also supporting their overall and future development. This encompasses areas such as physical development, including gross motor and fine motor skills, as well as social and life skills, and emotional wellbeing.

At Linden Lodge, each class and student is assigned a dedicated therapy team that collaborates with the education team additional complementary therapies and services.  This comprehensive care model is sustained throughout the day and extends into the residential setting in the evenings.

Our Therapy team maintains close communication with students’ local healthcare providers as appropriate, supporting local clinics in both hospital setting and school settings. This support addresses health needs such as seating, wheelchair, orthotics, dietetic clinics etc. 

We take pride in our holistic, child centred approach, which integrates and aligns with our various adapted curriculums. With daily therapy presence and readily available support, our model stands out from many other settings.

At Linden Lodge, therapy delivery is tailored to meet the students’ needs, making therapy effective, fun and relevant. Therapy can be provided in various settings, including within the classroom, in a tailored group setting, a specialist one-to-one session, multidisciplinary sessions, off-site immersive ‘real life’ experiences, or within the home. 

Therapy Specific

Therapy targets are tailored to each individual’s needs, developed collaboratively with the student, parents and teachers. These targets are set both for long-term and short- term goals to help each student achieve their maximum potential across all aspects of their school day and home life.

Occupational Therapy

Our Occupational Therapists will support students with physical and sensory skills. These may include fine motor skills, motor planning and organisational skills, visual perceptual skills, the impact of any sensory processing issues on their everyday life and learning and independence skills. Click here to find out more

Physiotherapy

Our Physiotherapists will support students with physical skills. This will include gross motor skills, motor planning and postural management support and monitoring. Click here to find out more

Speech and Language Therapy

Our Speech & Language Therapists support students with communication and interaction skills. This may include expressive and receptive language, attention and listening skills, auditory processing, verbal and non-verbal communication and social skills. Click here to find out more

VI and MSI Specialism

Linden Lodge is a school for students with visual and multisensory impairments, requiring specialised skills from our therapists. Our therapists continuously enhance their expertise by collaborating with MSI specialist teachers, attending specialist courses, and accessing information and knowledge from specialist networks and organisations.

Therapy Affiliations and Courses

At Linden Lodge, our therapists collaborate with specialist affiliations to organise educational events, including conferences and courses. We have hosted numerous courses for both our therapists and external participants, covering a range of specialist topics such as

• Hydrotherapy
• Rebound Therapy
• Paediatric Manual Handling
• Safeguarding Level 3
• DIR Floortime
• CQ Intelligence
• Makaton Training
• Neurodisability assessments etc.

Apprenticeships, Student and Preceptors

Linden Lodge takes pride in fostering the next generation of paediatric therapists. Here we have the opportunity to support staff by offering apprenticeships, allowing staff to work with our students as assistants while pursuing their specialist healthcare qualifications.

Additionally, Linden Lodge hosts Occupational, Speech and Language, and Physiotherapy students from various universities across London and the UK. This provides students access to highly specialized provisions, with the coaching of our staff to nurture and support their development