Therapy Foundations For Education

Therapy Foundations For Education We are an independent service combining occupational therapy and education for children with special educational needs.

We specialise in sensory integration and work with children on the autistic spectrum, children with dyspraxia and DCD. About Us

Therapy Foundations is a service that provides occupational therapy and educational support to enable children to become more confident and and successful with skills they need to help them play better, perform better at home and at school and to communicate

and develop social skills. We look at children’s motor skills, sensory development , thinking and reasoning skills, self regulation and social skills . The primary aim is to identify ,where possible, the causes of the child’s difficulty in order to help parents and other professionals understand the needs of the child and to intervene with an appropriate programme that will relate directly to the area in which the child is having problems. An evidence based approach to assessment and treatment is used to ensure that positive change is occurring .On going communication with parents (who are always present during assessment) and teachers is always welcomed and encouraged. The child-focused approach begins with an initial pre assessment questionnaire and prior to assessment full discussion takes place with the therapist (and if requested the teacher ) to ensure parents concerns and issues are addressed. Assessment takes the form of skill based standardised and non standardised assessment, criteria based assessment and clinicial observation assessment. Sensory integration assessment is undertaken by a SIPT Certified practitioner . The assessment is based on our BUILDING BLOCKS model of practice. The information is then written up for parents to understand better the findings of the assessment and the difficulties highlighted. Information in the form of customised handouts and advice sheets are then given to parents. At this point consultation will take place with the therapist and teacher (if requested ) who will agree intervention against specific measurable goals and agreed outcomes. Intervention is guided by exsisting and current evidence. We develop skills and strategies which relate directly to the presenting difficulty and the acquisition of necessary foundation skills to support desired outcomes. Specialist interventions include:

• Sensory Integration Therapy
• Greenspan Floor time Intervention
• Motor development and co ordination programme
• Listening Programme

05/06/2026

School anxiety in Year 8 is more common than you think and it often looks nothing like you'd expect 😔

When parents think of school anxiety they often picture a child crying at the gates or refusing to leave the car. But for many children in Year 8, anxiety wears a much quieter disguise and because it looks like something else, it often goes unaddressed until it becomes much harder to untangle

Why Year 8 specifically?

The adolescent brain is undergoing significant rewiring, the prefrontal cortex (responsible for rational thought and emotional regulation) is not yet fully developed. This means the emotional brain fires first, fast and hard

Anxiety in Year 8 isn't weakness or poor parenting, it's neurology meeting a genuinely challenging environment

Anxiety in children rarely announces itself clearly. It disguises itself as behaviour and behaviour is always communication

What parents can do

Stay curious, not corrective - "You seem a bit low tonight, do you want to talk or just be together?" lands very differently from "What's wrong with you?"

Don't minimise — validate. "I know it feels big" is more helpful than "Don't worry, it'll be fine." Their nervous system needs to feel understood before it can settle

Avoid over questioning at the door - Many children need decompression time before they can talk. A snack, quiet time and a low pressure environment often opens more conversation than direct questioning

If anxiety is persisting beyond the first few weeks or is affecting sleep, eating or school attendance therapeutic support now prevents much bigger difficulties later

Early intervention and support is key

💬 Does any of this sound familiar? You're not imagining it and your child isn't being difficult. Anxiety in Year 8 is real, it's common and it responds really well to early therapeutic support.

We're currently accepting new referrals for young people aged 10+. DM me to find out more. 💙

04/06/2026

September in Northern Ireland brings something familiar to thousands of families

A child in a new uniform A bigger school bag A look somewhere between excitement and absolute terror

Starting Year 8 is a milestone

But behind the photos on the doorstep, it can also be one of the most emotionally complex periods of a young person's life

Everything changes at once. The school is bigger. The teachers are different. The friendships shuffle. The expectations rise

All of this happens to a child whose brain is already in the middle of a significant period of neurological development, meaning emotions run higher, social dynamics feel more intense and self-identity is shifting daily

What makes Year 8 different from anything before?

Loss of the familiar. Primary school, even if it wasn't always easy, was known

Year 8 strips away every structure a child has relied on since the age of 4

- Read more in the comments

You don't have to navigate this alone, and neither does your child 💜

💬 Parents of Year 8 pupils 📣how is your child finding the transition so far?
Drop a comment below and follow along this week for the full series on supporting your child through one of their biggest years yet 🎒

03/06/2026

New school New teachers New social rules Longer days More subjects Less handholding

For many children in Northern Ireland the jump from primary to secondary feels like stepping onto a different planet

Emotional readiness matters just as much as academic readiness

Children who are able to understand their own feelings can manage worry and know how to ask for help. They are better equipped to settle in and thrive

Therapeutic support in the months leading up to secondary school can make a real difference through building resilience, self confidence in new situations and the self-awareness to navigate friendships and challenges independently

Confidence in the classroom starts with confidence in yourself

If you are thinking about preparing your child emotionally for big school or you're not sure were to begin Let's talk, secondary school readiness sessions are available

02/06/2026

Ask a parent in England, Scotland or Wales about the SEAG exam and they'll likely look at you blankly

Here in Northern Ireland it occupies a cultural space unlike almost anywhere else in the UK or Ireland

It is spoken about at dinner tables, in playgrounds, at church and in supermarket car parks

It carries weight that no standardised test should carry

To understand why, we have to look at what grammar schools have historically represented here and who that story has served

The cultural layers beneath the exam -
- Social advancement and ambition. For generations of working class and rural NI families, the grammar school was a way out. The equaliser that let a child from a modest background access university and professional life. That story is real and it still resonates deeply

- Community identity. In many parts of NI, which school your child attends is bound up with community, religion and belonging. The grammar school question isn't just educational, it's sometimes tribal

- Intergenerational pressure. Parents who sat the 11+ themselves often feel their own unresolved feelings of pride, regret or shame activated by their child's exam. Without awareness that emotional history gets passed down

- The stigma of "failing." Despite the best efforts of many schools and families, not achieving a grammar school place still carries social stigma in parts of NI. Children know this, they internalise it from the adults around them long before results day.

- Inequality in preparation. The ability to pay for tutoring, take time off work and provide a low-stress home environment during P6/7 is not equally distributed.

The exam increasingly reflects socioeconomic advantage as much as ability, something rarely acknowledged in public conversation

When we make a child's school placement a measure of family worth, we put something on their shoulders that was never theirs to carry

What we say out loud -
- "We just want what's best for you"
- "We're proud of you no matter what"
- "It's just a test"

What children often hear -
- "This defines your future"
- "Our family needs you to pass"
- "Not passing would be a failure"

The gap between what we intend to communicate and what our children receive is where much of the anxiety lives

Children are not always listening to our words, they're reading our worry, our hope and our fear

A healthier cultural conversation about SEAG starts in individual homes with honest, age appropriate conversations about what school is really for, what success really looks like and who your child is beyond their results

💬 This one might stir up some feelings and that's okay. I'd love to hear your thoughts. How has the culture around SEAG shaped your family's experience? 🌿

01/06/2026

If your child is in P6 or P7 in Northern Ireland there's a good chance the SEAG exam has become the background noise of your home

Tutoring schedules Practice papers Weekends given over to preparation The whole of P6 quietly reoriented around a single test

How did we get here? And is the level of pressure we're placing on 10-year-olds actually proportionate to what the exam is meant to do?

Why the pressure has escalated -
- Grammar school places are limited. With more children sitting the exam than there are grammar school places, it has become genuinely competitive, driving families toward intensive preparation

- Tutoring has become normalised. When a significant portion of children are being tutored, families feel their child is at a disadvantage if they don't follow suit, regardless of the child's actual needs or wishes

- Grammar school is culturally coded as success. In many communities across NI, passing the SEAG is still seen as the marker of a bright future and not passing carries an unspoken stigma that children internalise

- There's no agreed alternative narrative. Without a strong cultural story about the value of non-grammar education, families default to the path that feels safest, even when it doesn't fit their child

We have created a culture where a 10-year-old's entire worth can feel tied to a single morning's performance

What the research tells us:
Studies consistently show that high levels of academic pressure in primary school are associated with increased anxiety, reduced self motivation and poorer long-term outcomes for children's relationship with learning
The exam tests a narrow range of ability on a single day, it does not predict character, resilience, creativity or success

None of this means grammar schools are wrong or that preparing your child is wrong. It means the conversation needs to be bigger than "how do we pass?" It needs to include: What is this doing to our child right now and is that okay?

30/05/2026

The answer might surprise you 🤔

Every autumn, Northern Ireland families feel the weight of a decision that can feel anything but optional

The SEAG process (formerly the 11+) has been part of our education system for generations

But here's something many parents don't realise:
The SEAG exam is not compulsory
No child in Northern Ireland is legally required to sit it

So what is it? The SEAG (Standardised Entry Assessment Group) exam is a selection test used by grammar schools to rank applicants.

It's administered independently by the Grammar schools themselves, not the Department of Education

Whether your child sits it is entirely your choice as a parent

Questions worth asking before you decide:
- Does your child want to go to a grammar school? Their voice matters! A child pushed into a process they're resistant to will carry that stress into the exam room

- Are grammar schools the only option you'd consider? Northern Ireland has many excellent non-grammar schools that offer strong academic pathways, A-Levels, and university routes

- What is your child's wellbeing like right now? For children already experiencing anxiety, low self-esteem or emotional difficulties, the pressure of SEAG can be significantly harmful

- Is the decision being made for your child or by your child? There's a difference between informed family decision-making and a child absorbing a parent's spoken or unspoken expectation

"The question isn't just 'can my child pass the SEAG?' It's 'should my child sit it at all and what does that choice mean for them?''

Whatever you decide it should be an informed choice, made with your child's whole wellbeing in mind, not just their academic ability. There is no wrong answer. There is only the right answer for your family.

29/05/2026

P6 is more than just another school year!

Primary 6 in Northern Ireland marks the start of one of the biggest transitions in your child's life

The SEAG process

Talk of grammar schools, friendships shifting, pressure building

It can feel overwhelming for children and parents alike

At this stage children aren't just preparing academically

They're beginning to ask big questions about who they are, what they're good at and where they fit in

That's a lot for a 9 or 10-year-old to carry

Therapeutic support during P6 isn't about fixing something broken. It's about giving your child a safe, supported space to process those feelings so they can approach whatever comes next with confidence and calm

Every child deserves to feel ready, not just academically but emotionally

Is your P6 child showing signs of stress or anxiety about what's ahead? Drop a comment or send a message We'd love to help 💬

29/05/2026

The SEAG exam puts a lot of pressure on young shoulders

Here's what that can look like 🌿

For many families across Northern Ireland the SEAG process feels like the first major test

Not just academically but emotionally

Children as young as 10 are navigating preparation pressure, family expectations and fear of failure all at once

Some children go quiet
Some become clingy or irritable
Some lose sleep or refuse to eat
Others work themselves into exhaustion trying to meet the mark they think everyone expects

Therapeutic support can help your child develop the emotional tools to manage exam stress

Not just for the SEAG but for every challenge that follows

Breathing, grounding techniques, building self-worth beyond results and learning that their value isn't tied to a grade

"A child who feels emotionally safe will always perform better than one who is simply well-drilled"

Is your child struggling or experienced changes in mood with exam anxiety?

You're not alone and there is support available. Message us to find out more 💚

25/05/2026

Whether your child has been referred by school, a GP or you've noticed something yourself

Reaching out is the first step and you don't need all the answers to do it

We offer an initial 15 minute consultation so we can talk through what your child needs and whether we'd be a good fit

We currently have availability for new clients aged 7 and above

If you're a parent, carer or professional looking for therapeutic support for a child or young person in Northern Ireland, we’d love to hear from you 💜

Drop a comment, send a DM or get in touch using the link below. A conversation costs nothing and it might be the most important one you have this year


Address

39 Regents Wood
Craigavon
BT670RX

Telephone

078 49748047

Website

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