Words First IDP Spotlight At Words First, our IDP Spotlight sessions form part of our commitment to interdisciplinary practice across education, health, and mental health. These sessions bring together professionals from Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Educational Psychology to explore shared frameworks that support clearer formulation and more consistent...
Words First IDP Spotlight At Words First, our IDP Spotlight sessions bring together professionals from Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Educational Psychology to explore complex topics through a shared, interdisciplinary lens. These sessions focus on strengthening formulation, improving collaboration, and supporting earlier intervention for children and young people. This Spotlight...
Words First introduced Clinical Spotlight Terms this academic year as an opportunity for various clinical areas and specialists to collaborate and share information. This Spring Term our Autism, ADHD and SEMH Pathways have been focusing on Neurodiversity and Mental Health along with one of our incredible Educational Psychologists. Girls with ADHD...
At Words First, collaboration with schools sits at the centre of our work. SENCOs play a key role within that collaboration, bringing deep knowledge of pupils, staff teams, and school systems. As part of SENCO Celebration Week, we asked our therapists what they value most about working with...
As part of our first SENCO Celebration Week at Words First, we wanted to focus not just on the pressures of the role, but on the moments that keep SENCOs going. In conversations with the wonderful SENCOs we work alongside, many spoke about specific moments that stay with...
This week, we are launching our first SENCO Celebration Week at Words First. It is a chance to acknowledge the people who sit at the heart of SEND provision in schools and whose work is too often overlooked. SENCOs hold everything together. They problem solve, advocate, organise, support,...
Each year on 24 January, the world marks International Day of Education, a global day led by UNESCO to recognise education as a fundamental human right and a public good. The day highlights the vital role education plays in reducing inequality, supporting social mobility, and building fairer societies. At...
Alexithymia is often overlooked in conversations about children and young people’s mental health. It is not a diagnosis or a mental health condition. Instead, it describes differences in how emotions are recognised, understood, and communicated. For many neurodivergent individuals, emotions are not easily named or described. This does not mean that...
Practical guidance from Words First SI-trained Occupational Therapists Schools often tell us they have been given a set amount of funding to create a sensory room, with very little guidance on how to spend it well. Sensory spaces do not need to be expensive or filled with specialist equipment to be...
At Words First, we know that confident handwriting develops from strong foundations. Before children are expected to write fluently and for sustained periods, they need well-developed strength, stability, and coordination in the hands and fingers. Our therapists regularly support schools to build these underlying skills so that handwriting demands are...
