"Health Coaching helps people gain and use the knowledge, skills, tools and confidence to become active participants in their care so that they can reach their self-identified health and wellbeing goals." NHS England
Coaching for parents and carers
Parents and carers know their child best and are the 'experts' in their family life.
We will work with you to develop ways to support your child in learning the skills they want or need.
Occupational therapy workshop: building skills for independence
If you have been invited to one of our workshops, please complete this workbook (Word 190Kb) beforehand. You do not need to send the completed workbook to us, but it will be the basis of our first discussion. If you have any difficulties completing the workbook, please call us on 020 3049 8181.
This occupational therapy worksheet (Word 117Kb) will be explained to you during the workshop.
If you are unable to attend the workshop, you have been booked into, please call us as soon as possible on 020 3049 8181. If you do not attend the workshop, and we have not heard from you, you will be discharged.
Frequently asked questions about occupational therapy workshop
The workshop is an interactive discussion between an occupational therapist and parents or carers. We use a joint problem-solving approach. In the first session, we will use a video and group discussions to guide our learning. In sessions 2 and 3, we will take turns to discuss each child’s goal, and identify strategies to support your child’s goal.
This can vary depending on the group but usually between 2 to 8 families
1 to 2 therapists. Occasionally another staff member might be present for their learning.
Once the workshop is scheduled, our occupational therapy team will contact you by text and let you know the dates and times. The workshops are scheduled for 90 minutes between 9.30am and 3pm, Monday to Friday.
Workshops are held face to face or virtually, depending what was agreed with your occupational therapist.
- Virtual workshops will be on Microsoft Teams.
- Depending on availability, face-to-face workshops will either be at:
- Mary Sheridan Centre (Elephant and Castle)
- Sunshine House (Camberwell)
There are 3 sessions in total. You will have an opportunity to opt-in for an additional occupational therapy session after the workshop.
Groups are run once a week for 3 weeks.
The workshop usually takes place at the same time, on the same day, each week. For example:
- Session 1: Monday 7 January at 10am
- Session 2: Monday 14 January at 10am
- Session 3: Monday 21 January at 10am
If you cannot attend sessions that take place at the same time, on the same day for 3 weeks (for example, due to varied work shifts or childcare), please let us know as soon as possible by calling us on 020 3049 8181.
We usually aim for 60 to 90 minutes.
Yes, you must attend every session.
If you cannot attend a session, please let us know as soon as possible by calling us on 020 3049 8181.
If you do not attend the session or we do not hear from you, you will be discharged from the service.
Please call us on 020 3049 8181 to let us know us you can't attend. We'll offer you an alternative workshop up to three times. If, after three times, you are still unable to attend the sessions, you may be discharged.
Yes. We encourage other carers that support your child's identified goal to join our discussions.
The workbook is a tool to help prepare you for the group discussions. Please download workbook from this website. Please see your email for full information.
No, you do not have to hand in the workbook. However, it would be helpful to have your notes available to look at. You could have this on your laptop, phone, or have them printed – whatever works best for you.
If you are attending a face-to-face workshop, copies will be available for you to use.
You should be able to access the workbook with most devices. If you have trouble accessing it, try opening it with another device such as your tablet, phone, or personal computer. If you continue to have difficulties, please call us on 020 3049 8181.
Please test that you can access the Microsoft Teams link with plenty of time before the first session.
If you have trouble opening the Microsoft Teams link:
- you can try to join the meeting using the web app (eg on your browser)
- alternatively, try delete and reinstall the Microsoft Teams app. This time, sign into the app as a ‘guest’ (not with an existing Microsoft Teams account). Click the link to the meeting again.
If you are still having trouble, please let us know as soon as possible by calling 020 3049 8181.