Our Services
At Footprints, our activities have a common goal – to help every child achieve their full potential within a safe, fun and supportive environment.
Our work follows the practice and principles of Conductive Education. We encourage the child to develop motor, sensory and self-help skills (such as sitting, standing, touching, listening, looking, eating and playing), working in small groups based on their age, specific needs and abilities.
The early intervention we offer quickly benefits young children living with cerebral palsy or other conditions caused by damage to the part of the brain that controls movement. With the help of our programmes and strategies, children learn to overcome their physical challenges and their challenges to learning.
How We Empower Families
- Acknowledging their pivotal role in their child’s development.
- Running practical sessions to support and educate families.
- Providing help and advice with feeding and eating.
- Preparing the child and parent unit for transition to school.
- Providing details of other support agencies and voluntary organisations.
- Organising social activities for families, including regular coffee events.
- Liaising with educational/health bodies, sharing goals and strategies to enhance the child's learning.
Our Services
- Providing initial visits and 1:1 consultation for each child and family as part of our admission process.
- Providing a nurturing Conductive Education session per week in a supportive, small group environment, delivered by our expert team. These group sessions include carefully structured programmes to help children and parents explore their full potential using the support from our conductors and conductor assistants. Our sessions are aimed to develop the child’s personality and consider the child as a whole, addressing all areas of early development.
- Providing specifically designed weekly communication and connection sessions for older children living with Down Syndrome up to 11 years, based on best practices advised by Symbol UK and the Down Syndrome Association (DSA), along with structured motor development activities.
- Providing a safe environment and advice to encourage safe eating and drinking skills.
- Running 'Gym Club' for over 5's to help them develop skills they need to continue to progress in their formal education and broader society.
- Running Saturday swimming sessions in a hydrotherapy pool.
- In partnership with Epic Partners, run Epic Bounce - weekly sensory play, with rebound trampoline therapy (for children aged 4-12 and young people aged 16+ years who live with disabilities)
- Positive Playmates, a volunteer befriending programme for children living with disabilities, find out more and contact Positive Playmates here
- Providing sleep hygiene support and workshops for families.
- Providing a positive environment for promoting various methods of communication, using strategies and resources to develop Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) skills, including eye gazing technology and Makaton.
- Makaton courses, led by our Licensed Makaton Tutor, Jo Powell. Contact us for more information.
Giving Our Families Hope For The Future
We support and empower families to help understand and accept the disabilities their child lives with and how to enable their child to reach their full potential.
We ensure our families know where they can find further information and advice and our team give parents and siblings the emotional support they need to help them cope, offering practical and positive advice and information.