Contact Us | Press Office | International | Academy | About Us | Donate
In this section you can find information about our Motor Skills Pathway for children and young people in Sefton Community.
If you are looking for information about our Sensory Pathway, please click here.
The Motor Skills Pathway is one way in which we can support children who are experiencing difficulties with everyday activities that have an impact on their daily life. We work with children and young people to find ways to reduce the difficulties they face and help them to get the most from life.
We help to identify a child or young person’s difficulties in their daily life by assessing their needs, using play and purposeful activities to help them achieve their goals and become as independent as possible. We may also assess for small aids and equipment and recommend adaptations to support children and young people’s independence. For more information about small aids and equipment, click here.
The Occupational Therapist may look at the following areas:
The motor skills pathway is an ‘opt-in’ service. Parent/carers need to opt into the service, once they have been informed that a referral has been received and accepted.
If we accept a referral for a motor skills assessment, the child will be placed on a waiting list to see an Occupational Therapist, and we will aim to offer an appointment within 18 weeks.
Dependent upon the reason for your child’s referral and the age of your child, an initial appointment may be held in clinic, at home, in nursery, or school.
If your child is asked to attend a clinic appointment these are held at two locations in Sefton (see below). Your home address will determine the location of your appointment.
Southport Centre for Health and Well-being (North Sefton)
44-46 Hoghton St Southport PR9 0PQ
Sefton Carers Centre (South Sefton)
27-37 South Road Waterloo L22 5PE
At the first appointment, we will need to gain written consent to OT assessment and treatment. So it is essential that a person with parental responsibility attends the appointment. If this is not possible, please contact the OT team before the appointment. Click here for contact details.
At the first appointment, the Occupational Therapist will listen to your concerns and work to understand the functional difficulties your child is experiencing. This can be done through discussion, observation and assessment.
If your child is asked to attend an appointment at a clinic location, an assessment will take place to decide if any further actions are required. These assessments may be standardised, so that the Occupational Therapist can see how your child is performing in comparison to their peers.
An initial assessment can take up to 1 ½ hours. However this depends upon the needs of the child.
Due to the high demand for occupational therapy, please contact us as soon as possible so that your appointment slot can be given to someone else.
Contact: North Sefton OT Team on 01704 395 895
South Sefton OT Team on 0151 252 5836
We do appreciate that at times this is not always possible in the case of an emergency.
Please note: cancellations on more than one occasion may result in discharge and a re-referral into the service being needed.
If you do not bring your child to a first appointment and do not let us know, your child will be discharged and a re-referral will be needed.
Your child needs to attend the appointment with you for a first motor skills assessment.
The sensory workshops are parent/carer only.
Check that your child is comfortable in the clothing that they are wearing, as they may be asked to complete a series of exercises during assessment.
If your child uses any additional aids such as glasses, hearing aids or splints please make sure that these are brought with them.
Following the first appointment, the Occupational Therapist will look at the results and decide if further action is needed.
These actions may include:
Information on motor skills resources is coming soon
Alder Hey Children's Charity
