Referrals

In this section you will find information about our referral process including our criteria and referral forms for all Occupational Therapy services we offer.

Referral Criteria

Who can refer to Occupational Therapy?

Motor Skills Pathway

We accept referrals from health and educational professionals, and parents/carers.

Sensory Pathway

We accept referrals from parent/carers only. Referrals from professionals will be rejected.

Speech, Physiotherapy & Occupational Therapy (SPOT) Service

We accept referrals from health and educational professionals, including health visitors, Community Paediatricians, GP, hospital consultants and other therapists.

How do I refer a child to Occupational Therapy?

Motor Skills Pathway

To refer a child for assessment of their motor skills, you will need to complete a referral form, which you will find below.

An information leaflet about the occupational therapy service is provided with this form which must be read before completing the form. This is to ensure that the referral is appropriate for our service.

Please provide as much information as possible on the referral form and check that it is fully completed before sending it to us. If we receive an incomplete referral form it may not be accepted.

If you are a health or educational professional, please provide a copy of the information leaflet to the parent/carer of the child you are referring. You must gain parental consent before completing the referral form.

For more information about our Motor Skills Pathway please click here.

Sensory Pathway

Parent/Carer

A health or education professional that works with your child may recommend that you attend a parent/carer only sensory workshop. They will provide you with a referral form for you to complete and return to the Occupational Therapy team.

Alternatively, if you feel that your child has sensory processing differences, you can download a copy of the referral form and information leaflet below, or contact the Occupational Therapy team directly for a referral form to be sent out for you to complete and return.

Health or education professionals

All services have been provided with a sensory processing information leaflet and a referral form for the Occupational Therapy Sensory Service.

If you identify a child that you work with has sensory processing differences, and recommend that the parent/carer attend a sensory workshop, please provide a copy of the referral form for the parent/carer to complete. It is then the responsibility of the parent/carer to return the completed form to Occupational Therapy to ‘opt in’ to this service.

For more information about our Sensory Pathway please click here.

Speech, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy (SPOT) Service

To refer a child for assessment by the SPOT service, you will need to complete a referral form, which you will find below.

A child can be referred for a SPOT assessment up until their 3rd birthday. Two or more therapy assessments (Speech, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy) are required for a referral to SPOT. If only one therapy assessment is needed, please refer directly to that service.

If the child is over 3 years old, please complete the Occupational Therapy Motor Skills Pathway referral form.

Alternatively if you are worried about a child but are unsure whether to refer to the SPOT service, please contact the team to discuss your concerns.

For more information about the SPOT service including contact details, please click here.

What happens when a child is referred to Occupational Therapy?

Once a referral form is received into our service, it is triaged by Occupational Therapists to establish whether the referral is appropriate, which service will best meet the child’s needs, and the urgency of the referral.

If the referral is accepted, the parent/carer will receive an ‘opt-in’ letter. Upon opting in to the service the child will be placed on a waiting list and the referrer will be notified.

If the referral is not accepted or the parent/carer does not ‘opt-in’, the referrer will be notified.

Why would a referral to Occupational Therapy not be accepted?

We will not accept a referral to our service for the following reasons:

The referral form has not been fully completed and insufficient information has been provided.
No specific difficulties have been identified. We do not accept referrals based on diagnosis alone.
The child has been referred for reasons other than those listed in the service information leaflets (please refer to information leaflets provided with referral form).
The child’s GP is not within the Sefton area.
It is a secondary referral e.g. the child has been referred by your service because another service has recommended it.
The level of the child’s motor skills ability appears to be broadly in line with the level expected for their age, developmental level and diagnosis/disability.
There is no evidence that basic strategies have been implemented by parents or school prior to referral.
The difficulty could be improved with intervention from other service providers (e.g. specialist teaching service or educational psychologist).

Referral forms

To download and print a copy of the referral form you require, please click on the relevant link below. Referral forms cannot be completed and submitted electronically.

If you need further support completing any of the referral forms, please do not hesitate to contact the Occupational Therapy service. Please click here for contact details.

Motor Skills Pathway Referral Form

Sensory Pathway Referral Form - Please remember it is parent/carer referral only for this service. If you are a health/education professional recommending referral please ensure that you provide a copy of the information to parents along with the referral form.

Speech, Physiotherapy & Occupational Therapy (SPOT) Service Referral form

When you have completed the referral form, please return it via post to the appropriate address.