Bouncing into rebound therapy to support young people’s health, regulation and more

Young people at Prior’s Court are now gaining the physical benefits of rebound therapy – while also receiving recognition for their growing skill sets.

Since the beginning of the 2023/24 academic year, 16 young people have been participating in accredited rebound therapy learning as part of our Healthiness Area of Learning.

The 20-minute-long sessions are designed to improve young people’s:

• Bodily awareness and body position
• Balance and motor skills
• Core strength and muscle tone
• Regulation and concentration
• Physical fitness

But the learning is also accredited so young people’s progression and achievements in tasks within the programme are recognised.

Kirk Smith, Prior’s Court’s Healthiness Learning Specialist who leads the sessions, said:

“It benefits young people in different ways – for some it might be the type of exercise they best engage with so it brings health benefits, but for those who are more active we can teach body position, body shape and ideas like that. The accreditation model is very helpful as it designed with special educational needs in mind so it works really well for our young people. We can already see some real progress across different areas for our young people which is very promising.”

The use of rebound therapy is part of a holistic approach to young people’s therapeutic support, with crossover with Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy already being provided on-site by expert staff members.

Speech and Language Therapy is also supported with rebound therapy supporting generalising usage of core language (such as “stop” and “go”), as well as the introduction of specific symbols for rebound therapy sessions.

Sessions are currently delivered during term-time only, but plans are in place for more Prior’s Court staff members to receive training which would allow the therapy to be delivered to young people all year round.

Take a look at the other benefits of rebound therapy