What we can do for parents and children

When parents discover that their child has a neurological movement disorder, the effects on that family are wide-reaching. Staff working in Red Boots Children’s Services are all professionally trained in Conductive Education to address the needs of such families and transform these children’s lives.

Red Boots Children's Services have a distinct philosophy and ethos which includes:

• A belief in the power of teaching and learning to create new possibilities for independent and creative thought, movement and activity;
• A commitment to providing services and seeking the highest standards from staff, through close cooperation and positive relationships with children, their families and other professional agencies;
• Maintaining a sensitivity to the individual needs of children and their families through a philosophy which emphasises the strengths and abilities of those children and families;
• Equality of opportunity to all who require our services

Red Boots Services for Children include:

Parent and Child Service

Providing CE for families with children from birth to 3 years. Young children and their parents work together with a highly experienced Conductor in a small group or individually.

The Parent and Child Service aims to provide a comprehensive intervention appropriate to the age, ability and special needs of the children and through challenging and focused activity leads to development in movement, communication, self-care and social skills.

Early Intervention Service

Providing CE for children aged from three to seven years working independently of their parents in a nursery style setting following the Early Years Foundation Stage curriculum.

The Early Intervention Service is flexible offering a service to meet a variety of needs to children with movement co-ordination difficulties. Children may attend this service full-time as a dedicated specialist educational provision or as a joint placement with another mainstream or special nursery or school placement.

School Services

As a recognised independent special school, the National Institute of Conductive Education provides services for children of primary school age to learn together in a group setting to be more active and independent in their learning. The school curriculum addresses all areas of their development and learning including cognitive, movement, communication and self-care. The national curriculum is incorporated into every programme of the day to ensure that children receive their full statutory entitlement to education.

The school service is provided as a child’s full-time educational placement or as a joint placement with a mainstream or special school with children attending for part of a week or for fixed-term placements.

Sessional Services for children

Sessional services are offered to children who attend a school but need additional input specifically for their motor planning, co-ordination and control. These children are carefully grouped to enable those with similar needs and of similar ages to work together e.g. a group for children with motor co-ordination difficulties and Dyspraxia meets once each week and a group for children aged 11-13 with cerebral palsy meets once each week.