The Cocoon Therapy Space

11/02/2026

😍😍😍

11/02/2026

What does data really mean for teaching and planning in schools?

When we look at emerging UK data on sensory integration and processing differences, the message is clear.
Therapists need learning that helps them support participation, not just understand profiles.

For those working with children and young people under 18, teaching needs to include:

• Recognising sensory integration and praxis patterns over time, not relying on single scores
• Understanding development and key transitions, especially when school demands increase
• Placing praxis at the centre of learning, play, self care, and everyday school routines
• Building from strengths such as creativity, curiosity, physical competence, and motivation
• Analysing the environment and adult responses, not locating difficulty only within the child
• Using assessment data ethically to guide planning, adjustment, and inclusion

This kind of learning supports earlier understanding, better collaboration with schools and families, and a shift away from crisis driven responses.

Data matters when it helps us teach therapists how to think, not just what to do.

That is how evidence supports participation, belonging, and everyday school life.






participationmatters
praxis
neuroaffirmingpractice
sensoryinformed
childrensoccupationaltherapy

11/02/2026

03/02/2026

**PDA Alert**

The Cocoon Therapy Space is super proud to share that our two amazing occupational therapists Laura and Rachel have both successfully gained accreditation at OCN Level 3 (aka A-level) in "Supporting Children, Teenagers and Young Adults with Pathalogical Demand Avoidance (PDA)".

This formally adds another layer of specialist knowledge to our existing repertoire of , and hcpc-registered qualifications as highly skilled and post-graduate 😄

Thanks to and PAST - Positive Assessments Support and Training for your sage guidance and support.

30/01/2026

Shout out to families with lived experience of FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder)…we want to ensure our diagnostic service is as good as it can be so please share your thoughts on the process of a diagnosis with us via the link…
Young People, Parents and Carers are welcome to share their thoughts. Many thanks

https://forms.gle/6mSygm9yvN5Uz9Nv5

22/01/2026

Really great to attend the SEND round table event tonight hosted by Mary Foy MP. Distressing to hear the experiences of a broken SEND system from so many (everyone) in the room, but also a privilege to meet some amazing parents, young people, educators, professionals and advocates for change. 🙂

22/01/2026

Josh MacAllister MP and the Department for Education are repeating the mistakes of 2025 and failing adopted and kinship children.

Where is a decision about the parameters for the adoption and special guardianship support fund for 2026/2027? Without one applications cannot be opened and the inevitable bottle neck of applications will build up. The result, further harmful delays and gaps in vital specialist therapeutic support. Preventable harm. Harm caused by government failings that occur repeatedly and for which there are no excuse.

Where is the full and independent consultation process on the longer term future of the fund? Talked about by the Minister for Children and Families (Both Janet and Josh) and the DfE and almost a year on we are still none the wiser. Time wasted. Time that demonstrates a team that do not have the ability to adequately plan or prepare and do not prioritise the needs of some of the most vulnerable children in society. It is inexcusable.

The cuts to the per child limits within the fund MUST be reversed, they were made without consultation or evidence and the government has not adequately monitored the impact, not even close. We have and the harm being done to children and families is intolerable.

Delaying consultation cannot mean a delay in reversing the cuts. Consultation should take place with the cuts reversed so that children do not come to further unnecessary harm while expert opinion is sought, the future is planned for and decisions are made.

Despite overwhelming evidence from the sectors charities, from experts and from children and families the government has continued on this harmful path.

There can be no excuse.

Our campaign will increase its activity and its pressure. Our children deserve so much better.

Bridget Phillipson Rachel Reeves

15/01/2026

Thank you ARC Adoption North East for hosting us and generously sharing your time 🥰

15/01/2026

Yesterday Laura & Rachel were privileged to meet with the lovely team at ARC Adoption North East and discuss how can support children, young people and adults.

Post-adoptive families can apply to the ASGSF for with us in our beautiful Cocoon Therapy Space.

14/12/2025

This is such important work in both identifying the need for support and also the right support. At The Cocoon Therapy Space we have post graduate training in Ayre Sensory Integration which guides our assessment process and ongoing support for children, young people and adults. A more joined up process with increased awareness is extremely welcome! Ayres' Sensory Integration WISE thank you for sharing

‼️ New open access research in Brain Sciences offers a clear decision guide to help primary care notice sensory integration needs early, and refer to Occupational Therapy with Ayres Sensory Integration training.

Impacts for practice:

⭐ Clearer referral criteria
⭐ Informed use of SP-2 or SPM-2 to support judgement
⭐ Co-produced plans centred on everyday participation
⭐ A shared pathway for GPs, Health Visitors and School Nurses to the right OT service

This complements co-produced tools like Sensory Ladders, Sensory Spiders and Sensory Grids used by therapists, parents and teachers.

Read the article: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/15/11/1184

12/12/2025

We work with so many children and young people who are unable to "cope" with school. The problem is The System, NOT our young people. Compliance through fear has no place in education. ☹️

The safeguarding review into Mossbourne Victoria Park Academy makes for distressing reading. It describes a harsh disciplinary culture, where pupils were frequently shouted at and humiliated. Yet even in this review, the school is praised for its ‘excellent results’.

And herein lies the problem. Because a school where pupils are afraid and unhappy, but which gets high grades at GCSEs, can be said to have ‘excellent results’. Our children’s lives have been reduced to exam scores. A school’s performance has been reduced to the same.

Unfortunately, this has led to harsh and high control environments across the country. It’s not just Mossbourne. I hear about similar cultures in schools from the North to the South. Because, it turns out, an effective way for a school to get higher exam scores is to rigidly control every aspect of a child’s life, drill them relentlessly on how to take tests and harshly discipline those who don’t comply. What we never ask is whether those high GCSE grades are really worth it.

For in my opinion we should be judging a school on so much more than test scores.

We should be asking whether a school produces confident and happy young people. We should be asking whether they leave school enthusiastic about learning and life. We should be asking whether they feel part of their community, and whether they are full of ideas as to what they’d like to do. We should be asking whether they leave school feeling that their voice matters, and that they are people who can make a difference. We should ask if they’ve met adults who inspire them to take risks and push themselves.

That is what ‘excellent results’ should really be. Young people who are ready to start adult life. Those are the results that really matter, and that is what, in my opinion, makes an outstanding school. Even if those young people do not get top grades at GCSE.

But to prioritise that, we will have to accept that exam results will not be as high as they might have been. We will have to accept that the cost of ‘excellent results’ can be too high.

Just as it was at Mossbourne Academy, where the ‘excellent results’ were at the cost of the young people themselves, and created a culture of fear. Results like this are very far from ‘excellent’.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/dec/09/london-academy-staff-instilled-climate-of-fear-among-pupils #:~:text=The%20report%20by%20Sir%20Alan,harsh%20and%20damaging%20disciplinary%20culture

07/12/2025

Great to see more evidence to support the use of Ayres Sensory Integration/Occupational Therapy Interverntion for neurodivergent children Rachel Ineson Independent Occupational Therapist Laura Elliott Independent Occupational Therapist

Read about new findings on Ayres Sensory Integration® in children with ADHD and its role in promoting better learning and engagement.