The Cocoon Therapy Space

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.

07/11/2025

We're proud that Rachel Ineson Independent Occupational Therapist and Laura Elliott Independent Occupational Therapist who co-own The Cocoon Therapy Space are both experienced Occupational Therapists, with post-graduate qualifications in Sensory Integration - PgDip and PgCert respectively - awarded by Sheffield Hallam University.

Being HCPC-registered and RCOT members (with full insurance) and holding real postgraduate qualifications in Sensory Integration means you can trust that our work is safe, professional, and based on the latest evidence

You can check out the status of any HCPC-registered allied health professional here:

Online Register to find a paramedic, chiropodist, podiatrist, physiotherapist, psychologist, occupational therapist, dietitian

02/11/2025

BREAKING NEW RESEARCH
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.

Impact for practice: clearer referral criteria, informed use of SP-2 or SPM-2 to support judgement, co-produced plans centred on everyday participation, and a shared pathway for GPs, Health Visitors and School Nurses to the right OT service. It 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

21/10/2025

Contact www.rachelsensoryot.co.uk and www.laurasensoryot.co.uk for information about how we work with and support children and families using ASGSF. We're both qualified sensory integration practitioners & have availability for new clients in 2026 😃

Adoption Special Guardianship Support Fund (ASGSF) announcement.

We are pleased to hear that the ASGSF will be continuing next year (2026/27) and that applications can now be made for therapy that starts this year and continues into next year.

We hope that this announcement provides a measure of reassurance to our adopters. We will share more information once we have it.

You can read the statement at: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2025-09-04/hcws908

21/10/2025

Come meet our team!

This We've teamed up with Smooth Radio North East to get out and about to chat to you, in person, about adoption.

You can find us at:
22nd October – Dalton Park - 10am - 4pm
23rd October – Walkergate, Durham - 10am - 4pm
24th October – Grainger Street, Newcastle - 10am - 4pm

Start or grow your family through adoption, and help change a child’s life forever. Find out more at adoptcoasttocoast.org.uk

06/10/2025

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjw7g1zjwpeo

Both Rachel Ineson Independent Occupational Therapist and Laura Elliott Independent Occupational Therapist have lots of experience of working with AMAZING children, young people and families affected by Fetal Alcohol Conditions.

Take a look at our websites, or drop us a message to see how we can help with specialist occupational therapy and sensory support

A Newcastle consultant says about 900 affected babies are born in the region each year.

01/10/2025

Love this description of the depth of assessment that is needed to fully understand a person's individual sensory profile. Thanks for sharing Moyna! At The Cocoon Therapy Space we believe thorough assessment process leads to the best outcomes! Rachel Ineson Independent Occupational Therapist Laura Elliott Independent Occupational Therapist Moyna Talcer Consultant Occupational Therapist

Yesterday morning, I spent time teaching Ayres structured clinical observations to a collegue who I supervise. They already use them in practice but as part of their ongoing learning and clinical development, wanted to take the time to go a bit deeper and drill into the neuro structures being assessed. I love how they are so committed to their learning.

Ayres' Structured Clinical Observations are postural and motor tasks developed by occupational therapist A. Jean Ayres to assess sensory processing difficulties, particularly in children. These observations evaluate factors like muscle tone, postural control, vestibular function, and praxis, which are foundational for an individual's ability to engage in daily activities. The tasks are designed to be administered within a playful context and are the basis for more standardized assessments like the Structured Observations of Sensory Integration-Motor (SOSI-M).

Purpose
To assess sensory integration and sensory processing difficulties.
To identify underlying postural, motor, and neurological issues that may impede occupational performance.
To inform the development of tailored interventions that address an individual's specific sensory and motor challenges.

Key Aspects
Focus on Sensory-Based Motor Skills: The observations assess skills like proprioception (body awareness), vestibular processing (balance and movement), motor planning, and postural control.

26/09/2025

A great lineup by The PDA Space for this weekends' summit. Rachel & Laura will both be joining 😀 (when we can - )

Here’s your invite to share with friends, family and fansnals to come and join this years at the PDA Space Summit 🌟♾️🌟

fans