THERAPIES | Fountain Head House School | Saltash, Cornwall

OUR THERAPY TEAM

At Fountain Head House School, the education and therapy staff work together as part of a multi-disciplinary team, which is designed to meet the wide-ranging needs of our pupils.

The Fountain Head House School therapy team consists of (please click on the staff photo below to view their full profile):

Naomi Ash - Speech & Language Therapist

Naomi graduated from Marjon University in 2005, with a degree in Speech and Language Therapy. She started her career working in the NHS before moving to work in specialist education settings in the Midlands. Following a few years spent living in Australia she returned to Plymouth and took up a post working with pre-school children with complex communication needs. Naomi believes in using a total communication approach which values and uses all methods of communication to enable everybody to understand the world around them and to communicate effectively.

In 2023 Naomi completed her PG Cert in Sensory Integration through Sheffield Hallam University (Sensory Integration Education). The strategies learnt as part of this course enable her to work more effectively with children whose sensory processing challenges have been acting as a barrier to their ability to learn and to develop their communication skills.

Vikki Freeman - Play Therapist

Vikki is a Certified Play therapist, with PTUK, gaining her Post Graduate Diploma in Play Therapy at Leeds Beckett University. She graduated in 1997 from The University of Manchester with a Degree in Psychology. Before becoming a full time Play Therapist, she was a teacher for over 20 years, the last 12 years being in a Specialist Early Years Setting, supporting children with Speech, Language and Communication Needs. She feels passionately about play and how it helps children heal and make connections. She works using an ‘Integrative Holistic Play Therapy Model’, which allows children to choose the mediums they wish to explore, within a playroom that supports the individual needs and uniqueness of each child. She believes developing a trusting therapeutic relationship is important and aims to offer a safe, comfortable and welcoming environment where all children can be themselves, without judgement. A trusting environment makes it easier for the child to express and explore their feelings. Vikki is continually developing her knowledge of how best to support children therapeutically.

Connie Matus - Occupational Therapist

Connie is an Occupational Therapist working in the field since 2015. Originally from Chile, where she obtained her Occupational Therapy degree and gained experience working in a mainstream primary school supporting neurodivergent children and setting up the Occupational Therapy service within the school. She also practiced as an Occupational Therapist in private clinics offering paediatric specialist assessments and interventions in clinic, home and school settings.

In 2018, she moved to England where she completed a MEd in Autism in special education at the University of Birmingham. Since moving to the UK, she has worked in a primary special school for autistic children as well as a Mental Health Practitioner in a Child and Adolescent Mental Health service, supporting young people with severe learning disabilities.

She obtained the University of Southern California continuing education certification in Sensory Integration in 2017, and is currently completing the UK-based Ayres Sensory Integration Certification with ASI-WISE.

Alongside her role within Fountain Head House, Connie also works as a specialist mentor providing online support for university students with mental health conditions and/or neurodivergent conditions such as autism, ADHD, dyspraxia and dyslexia. She feels very passionate about supporting neurodivergent young people and their families to achieve their goals and creating an inclusive society that embraces neurodiversity and differences in a positive way.

Jules Mitchell - ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant)

Jules has been in education since 2005, then moved to Southampton in 2007. Where she worked in secondary education training to become a qualified ELSA, then going onto gain a Post Graduate in Nurture groups and business education. Whilst working with vulnerable children and young people – particularly those with social, emotional, mental health and behavioural difficulties this enabled her to set up one of the first secondary school nurture groups in Hampshire, The nurturing approach offered a range of opportunities for children and young people to engage with missing early nurturing experiences, giving them the social and emotional skills to do well at school and with peers, develop their resilience and their capacity to deal more confidently with the trials and tribulations of life, for life.

From 2014 she began working specifically with children diagnosed on the autistic Spectrum, gaining qualifications in HLTA, Autism awareness and Diabetes training.

On returning to Cornwall in 2020 Jules returned to work at Fountain Head House School bring with her knowledge and passion to work as an assistant therapist and ELSA she has had special training from educational psychologists to support the emotional development of children and young people helping them learn to understand their emotions and respect the feelings of those around them. One way to support children with ASD includes accepting and valuing our differences. Jules feels the onus is on us to change our perspective, environment, and norms to better meet the needs of the students and states It is a privilege to be able to learn every day from autistic children who experience the world differently.

The Fountain Head House School therapy provision consists of:

Play Therapist

Play Therapy aims to help children and young people to understand muddled feelings and confusing life events they may be experiencing and help them to make sense of them. Play is a child’s natural way of exploring the world and enables them to express themselves when they may not have the words to do so. Play Therapy sessions take place in a safe therapeutic environment, where the child is able to select resources from a ‘therapeutic toolkit’ (small world play, sand, role play, instruments, puppets, art and craft) and choose how they spend their time in the room. The therapist follows the child’s lead with the therapy moving at the child’s pace, using a non-directive approach. Over time the therapist may begin to engage in a more directive way.

Emotional Literacy Support Assistant room

Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA)

ELSAs are teaching assistants who have had special training from educational psychologists to support the emotional development of children and young people in school. ELSAs have regular professional supervision from educational psychologists to help them in their work. ELSAs help children and young people learn to understand their emotions and respect the feelings of those around them. They provide the time and space for pupils to think about their personal circumstances and how they manage them.

Occupational Therapist

Occupational therapy (OT) enables people of all ages to participate in meaningful activities (occupations) that they want, need or are expected to take part in, looking to improve their quality of life and wellbeing. Occupations for children and young people may include self-care (getting ready to go out, eating a meal, using the toilet), being productive (learning in school, volunteering, caring for a pet) and play and leisure activities (playing independently or with friends, taking part in hobbies, socialising).

The school occupational therapist will become involved when the child or young person is experiencing challenges in meaningful activities within their school life. For example, in their school work (handwriting, following instructions, staying on task), in their life skills (organising belongings, eating in the school canteen, changing for P.E.), in break times (joining group games, making friends) and with transitions (moving from one place to another within the school, in between tasks).

Speech and Language Therapist

SaLTs have an in-depth knowledge of a range of speech, language and communication needs. They can assess pupils communication strengths and needs through the taking of a case history, observing and interacting directly with a pupil. This enables a detailed profile of the young person's communication strengths and needs to be developed, which then informs the support strategies to be put into place across the school day. Within FHHS we aim to utilise a total communication approach, which values and uses all methods of communication to enable everybody to understand the world around them and to communicate effectively.

Levels of provision

The therapy provision at Fountain Head House School follows a tiered approach, with therapists providing input at a universal, targeted and specialist level: