The Academic Year 2024-25 was indeed a busy one for Cognus Post 16 Therapies. Not only did the joint therapies assessment clinic enter its fourth year, reaching a whopping 30 young people in the local and surrounding area, but Emma Perridge (Occupational Therapist, Post 16 OT Lead) and Ashlea Stephens (Speech and Language Therapist, Post 16 SaLT Lead) spread the word on Preparing for Adulthood (PfA) far and wide.
PfA encompasses the following four outcomes:
- Progression to further / higher education and/or
employment
- Independent living and housing
- Friendships, relationships and being part of my community
- Being as healthy as possible in adult life
Working towards these outcomes ensures that the young person is considered in a strengths-based and holistic way, keeping a functional mindset at the centre of any intervention.
During the summer term of 2025, the Post 16 Lead therapists trained the Cognus Therapies team (consisting of more than 100 OTs and SaLTs) on the power of collaborative working and how joint assessment and report writing can best meet the needs of children and young people across the local area and beyond. They likened the partnership between an OT and a SaLT to the dynamic duo from Disney Pixar’s Toy Story, Woody and Buzz. You can hear more about their story in this audio clip from a child’s perspective: Woody and Buzz.m4a
Following this session, staff felt inspired to work together more jointly, commenting that the “Training…has had a lasting influence on how we work as a team!” It is incredible to see substantial changes in practice already. The Post 16 Lead therapists didn’t stop there though…
Later in the summer term of 2025, they presented to Cognus Limited at the annual staff conference, solidifying that PfA is everyone’s business and that, together, we have the ability to support young people to bridge the gap between childhood and adulthood. Since animation analogies have become the Post 16 Leads’ inspiration, this time, they looked to the famous Shrek and Donkey to tell the tale.
Donkey represented the child or young person and Shrek was the supporting adults in their life as they progress from familiar childhood, to the slightly more unknown adulthood. Do you remember the scene in Shrek where Shrek and
Donkey cross a rickety bridge across a sea of lava to reach the castle on the other side? Well, imagine the castle is adulthood and each team in Cognus Limited represents a different plank on the bridge. We all play a part. During the session, staff identified one thing they and their team wanted to improve on to be more PfA focussed and, as such, the impact of the training was unmistakeable.
The Post 16 Leads look forward to another year of celebrating PfA with ‘No Limits On Learning’, and ‘No Limits On Life’. If any Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) teams would like to hear more about Cognus Post 16 Therapies, then please contact cognus.therapies@cognus.org.uk to discuss how we can support you.