'Lessons learned' from introducing universal strategies designed to support the motor and functional skills of Reception and Year 1 children in a sample of primary schools in South East England

This article describes an evaluation of universal resources designed to support motor development in Reception and Year 1 children. Four schools (Year R - Year 6) in the South East of England, three with high numbers of disadvantaged children participated. Senior leadership influenced take up of the initiative. Health and well-being practitioners and occupational therapy students contributed to ‘roll out’ of the resources with support provided by the authors over 12 weeks. Interview and focus group data from participating staff were gathered alongside examples of schoolwork from pupils. School staff needed access to support when incorporating universal strategies. The initiative contributed to schools working towards Healthy Schools targets. At the end of 12 weeks improvements in children’s sitting position, handwriting and lunch time skills were noted, warranting further exploration of this approach to address the needs of children with poor motor skills at school entry

A kaleidoscope of enquiry - showcasing examples of collaborative practice to promote inclusive learning environments

The symposia will showcase three research studies from the UK and Ireland that involve occupational therapists (OT), physiotherapists (PT) and educators who have conducted research and used innovative approaches to develop inclusive and collaborative learning environments. All three of the studies introduced student- centred resources or programmes using a consultative collaborative process. Findings demonstrated that there were benefits not only to children and young people, but to parental and professional knowledge and understanding

Challenges of multi-professional working within one English Higher Education Institution: ‘We hit a giant’: is this a shared experience?

This paper discusses the process and outcome of an innovative qualitative research approach evidencing the lived experiences of a group of academics who were confronting what they felt at the time to be the indisputable extinction of their network. In an effort to provide a constructive response to the academics’ despondency and lack of agency, one colleague, Tom, suggested using a creative approach to enable individual voices to be heard, acknowledged and appropriately shared. Utilising this consideration, the findings from a collection of personal narrative reflections were thematically analysed, snipped and re-situated in order to create a poem telling and highlighting the elements academics considered were the key drivers for their frustrations and disillusionment