There is huge pride at Cognus after our team of occupational therapists (OT) and speech and language therapists (SaLT) have received well-deserved praise and recognition from families and professionals alike.
During the COVID lockdown in March, Cognus therapists delivered remote therapy to children and young people in Sutton. We’ve had more than 200 responses to our feedback survey, not only from parents/carers (78%) but also from young people (22%), the majority of whom told us that they were more than happy with the support.
One of the many satisfied parents said, “My son’s Speech Therapist has been a godsend throughout the pandemic and he really looks forward to his sessions each week. His anxiety has really improved since she has been involved with us. We are both so grateful for her time and is absolutely perfect for him…she has a thorough understanding of his difficulties and goes above and beyond to help him.”
Cognus therapists deliver speech and language and occupational therapy to children and young people in mainstream schools, bases and colleges across Sutton and the neighbouring boroughs, working in close partnership with parents/carers, teachers and teaching assistants.
Robert Watkins, Principal at Carew Academy, said “I would like to say a huge thank you to the OT team for the work they do to support our students. They work in perfect collaboration with teachers, both in class and through 1:1 and group sessions to support students’ development in a range of areas. The team is crucial in supporting our students to live independently and develop a sense of self identity.”
A number of our therapists have started delivering on site again this term, but given the success of remote delivery for college-age learners and the challenges of working within COVID bubbles in large mainstream colleges, the Post 16 team have continued to meet the therapy needs of young people online.
The success of remote group therapy delivery was recognised by Fiona Pace, Team Leader for Learning Support at South Thames College Group, who was pleased to have a full house of students on a recent session. “This is remarkable,” Fiona said, “In the days before lockdown we had real issues getting the students to attend, the turnout was usually less than 50% – maybe this is the way forward!”
As one young person said, “I enjoyed my therapy session, I had a great experience and I will love to do it again someday.”
Cognus Therapies Team Manager, Patsy Winkley, said: “Everyone in the team do a fantastic job and I’m really pleased to hear from families and settings about the difference our therapists are making to the lives of young people in the borough – I couldn’t ask for more.”
The therapies team pulled out all the stops for Occupational Therapy Week (2-8 November) to raise awareness of their profession and inspire people from all backgrounds to #ChooseOT as a career.
Meanwhile, parents and young people continue to feedback positively about their experiences.
Read Robert Watkins (Carew Academy) full statement