Ofsted
‘Pupils love coming to school. They say that members of staff are ‘amazing’, ‘friendly’ and ‘kind’. Ofsted Report - October 2018.
We provide floats and rings which allow the children to swim unaided which is amazing to see. Our students often struggle with physical pain and hydrotherapy allows them to exercise, stretch and relax. We use our pool on a daily basis within school and also provide after school swimming.
Hydrotherapy involves stimulation and gentle exercise in warm water at a constant temperature of 32 degrees Celsius. Hydrotherapy pools tend to be purpose-built with a constant or very gradual water depth of around 1 metre. Pools usually incorporate multi-sensory equipment such as lighting and sound to stimulate the senses.
Hydrotherapy offers tangible benefits to the health and wellbeing of children and young people with a range of disabilities and health conditions:
- The warmth of the water has an effect on the individual neuro-muscular junctions which results in decreased muscle tone and decreased spasticity.
- Buoyancy of the water is used to assist movement of joints – which is either more difficult or painful on dry land.
- Movement in the water and water pressure helps to reduce residual lung capacity for children and young people with chest problems. This enables more efficient lung function and reduces the risk of chest infections developing.
- Creating turbulence around an extremity (i.e. arm or leg) can increase their awareness of the limb and help with mobility – both in the water and later on dry land.
- Multi-sensory environment helps stimulate the senses whilst calming children with sensory and learning difficulties.
