Children's Occupational Therapy Service

The Children’s Occupational Therapy Service helps children develop the skills they need for everyday activities at home, school, and in the community, while supporting families with practical strategies and equipment.

We help children and young people with physical difficulties take part in everyday activities that are important to them.

About the service

Our goal is to help children build skills, confidence and independence.

We can help with activities such as:

  • getting dressed
  • using a pencil
  • playing with other children
  • taking part in learning
  • getting around at home, school and in the community

We look at:

  • the child or young person
  • the activities they need or want to do
  • the places where they spend their time

We know that all these things work together and can affect how well a child joins in with everyday life.

Watch the video below to learn more about our service and find simple ideas that can help children in school and other education settings.

Contact your local occupational therapy team

Children's Occupational Therapy - at home | Cumberland SEND

Does your child need an Occupational Therapy assessment?

Not all children need an assessment from an occupational therapist.

There are many activities you can do at home to help your child build their skills. You can find ideas on the Developing Skills for Physical Activities page on the Cumberland Family Hubs website. This has practical advice, strategies and resources to help children develop skills and independence.

If your child is in an early years setting, ask if they use the Moving to Write programme, a Cumbria wide approach supporting sensory and motor development. If they do not use it, staff can contact their Early Years Adviser for support. 

If your child is still finding activities difficult after trying these suggestions, please complete our referral form. These activities can also be used while waiting for an appointment.

Your child may be able to use our service if they:

  • are aged 0 to 18 years old, or up to 19 if they are still in full-time education
  • are registered with a GP in Cumbria
  • have physical difficulties that make everyday activities harder

If you are not sure whether a referral is right for your child, contact your local therapy team for advice.

Who can make a referral?

A referral should be made by someone who knows the child well and understands the difficulties they have.

This could be:

  • a parent or carer
  • a teacher or member of school staff
  • a health professional
  • a social care professional
  • the young person themselves

The referral should explain:

  • which activities the child finds difficult
  • how these difficulties affect their daily life

Requests for support for sensory needs and home safety

We cannot accept referrals that only ask for a sensory assessment where there is no evidence that a physical difficulty is affecting everyday activities. The NCIC sensory service provides information, advice and consultation to help you and your child’s education setting understand, identify and support your child’s sensory needs without needing a referral to occupational therapy. 

For more information, visit Sensory processing on the Cumberland Family Hub website. 

For home safety requests, before a specialist occupational therapy assessment is needed, there are many things that can be tried to support your child in the home. 

Please read the Supporting Your Child at Home section for ideas and practical strategies.

Try these suggestions before you think about making a referral to occupational therapy for specialist support. 

This section also gives you information about specialist equipment, minor adaptations and Disabled Facilities Grants for major adaptations. 

How the service works

Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists and Speech and Language Therapists work together as one therapy service across Cumbria.

The service is organised into three areas:

  • East
  • West
  • South

Although we are an NHS service, we try to use a one child, one Occupational Therapist approach whenever possible.

This helps make sure support is joined up across health, education and social care services.

We work with children and families in the place that best meets their needs.

The support we offer

We provide different levels of support. This means your child gets the help they need at the right time.

Support may include:

  • online advice and information
  • ideas to adapt activities
  • advice for school or nursery staff
  • group sessions
  • one-to-one sessions
  • advice about equipment
  • advice about changes to home or school environments, which may involve environmental adaptations

Together, we will agree goals that are important to your child.

When your child has reached their goals, we will close their case. If their needs change later, they can be referred again.

Make a referral

To make a new referral or refer a child again, complete the:

Children's Occupational Therapy Referral Form

Resources

A range of resources and support links related to Children’s Occupational Therapy, including equipment suppliers, behaviour support, sensorimotor skill development, programmes, handwriting and motor skills tools, professional guidance, and organisations offering advice and funding for families can be found here: 

For any inquiries about wheelchairs, please contact Carlisle Disablement Services Centre | Ace Centre

 

Page last updated: 17/09/2026