Together at school! : the emergence of new practices in school-based occupational therapy

With the ratification of the United Nations [UN] Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in most European countries there is now a common commitment to ensure that children with disabilities ‘can access an inclusive, quality and free primary and secondary education on an equal basis with others in the communities in which they live’ (UN, article 24, 2006). To successfully implement school inclusion, occupational therapists play a key role as collaborators with educators. While there is some evidence of school-based occupational therapy [SBOT] practice in Europe, it is unknown how various SBOT services are designed and delivered, and what evidence-base is governing the model of service delivery. Therefore, emerging practices of SBOT need to be explored across Europe to identify best practice, and inform the education of occupational therapists. This workshop aims to consider ENOTHE’s role in strengthening this emerging area of practice. The SBOT working group will present practices from different contexts in Europe to stimulate discussion. This will be followed by small group discussion to achieve these outcomes: •Generating ideas about how SBOT can be delivered •Establishing core knowledge, skills and attitudes for SBOT •Identifying an action plan for strengthening knowledge of SBOT across Europe