Children’s Therapies, St Mary’s Hospital, Isle of Wight NHS Trust
Face-to-face Training provided by MAES Therapy International
Another ‘In-Service’ Training for an NHS Trust provided by M.A.E.S. Therapy.
During 4 days in October 2025, Physiotherapists and Occupational Therapists from Children’s Therapies, St Mary’s Hospital, Isle of Wight NHS Trust came together for 4 days of ‘In-Service’ Training provided by MAES Therapy International.
The 2-day MAES Therapy Introduction Course: ‘A better understanding of Children with CP and similar neurodevelopmental conditions and principles to improve their coordination’, was a lively and interactive course, with a great mix of theory and treatment videos, leaving them inspired and wanting to learn more!
This was followed by 2 days of Patient Reviews, with Jean-Pierre Maes leading Assessment and Treatment Workshops for patients of Children’s Therapies, St Mary’s Hospital, providing therapists with new insights about how they can improve the treatment they provide.
Trainer & Course Leader:
Dr. Jean-Pierre Maes MSCP, Consultant Neuro-Developmental Physiotherapist,
Founder & Director MAES Therapy International
Our grateful thanks to Becca Burr, Principal Paediatric Speech and Language Therapist, Clinical Lead for Children’s and Young People’s Services, St Mary’s Hospital, Isle of Wight NHS Trust and her colleagues for their warm hospitality.
Isle of Wight NHS Trust is one of over 40 NHS Trusts around the UK that have invited M.A.E.S. Therapy to provide highly specialised training for their therapists to provide them with deeper knowledge to improve their treatment of children with Cerebral Palsy and similar neurodevelopmental conditions.
Here are a few comments from therapists:
“I think it was a really good introduction and left me thinking more deeply about how to treat children with different brain lesions. I also have learnt a lot about play and how you can use that to make an agreement with the child before the session to have a joint goal. I think it is a very beneficial course to take.”
DM Physiotherapist
“Looking at children with CP from the lens of the area of the brain that is impacted – assessing them to figure out the core skill/s they lack that can impact development of a lot of other skills
– understanding the compensations they use that could come in the way of their development
– and most importantly for me- it underlined that my role is to help child/family work on decreasing what would do the most harm long term and increasing what can bring the best results long-term.”
SJ Occupational Therapist
“This course has given me a completely new perspective — one that encouraged me to unlearn some old ideas and approach therapy with a fresh mindset. The introductory course provided a strong understanding of the theory, the MAES Framework, and the clinical reasoning behind it.
The course structure worked very well. The balance of two days of theory followed by two days of practical sessions allowed me to understand the concepts and then see how they can be applied in real clinical situations. This combination encouraged deeper discussions and meaningful reflection throughout the week.
One of the biggest insights for me was shifting my focus from the symptoms to the root of the problem — understanding where it starts rather than just what we see. The idea of “opening new doors by closing some” really stayed with me. During the practical sessions, I began to see what that meant in practice — that by letting go of familiar ways of working, we can create new opportunities for each child, depending on their unique profile.
I would definitely recommend this course to newly qualified therapists or anyone working with children with Cerebral Palsy or motor disorders. It opens your eyes to a completely different way of thinking and helps you move beyond standard approaches. It’s an inspiring introduction to MAES Therapy and an excellent foundation before taking the full 4-week MAES Foundation Course.”
JR Occupational Therapist
“I was prepared for a Bobath replacement type course. My expectations were exceeded as the training was holistic and incorporated play and activity to achieve outcomes rather than just positioning during the session.
I was pleased that neuro plasticity will continue beyond the often cited 5 years which means that lots of services seem to give up on children (and adults) after this time. It has helped me understand the behaviour of children with CP who are often resistant to our input during sessions and have suffered because of it.”
CW Occupational Therapist
“I think this was an excellent introduction to the MAES Approach. Having 2 days of lectures with all the videos and then being able to see the approach with our patients was very interesting and meant that we were able to apply the information we had learnt on the first two days to practise. The whole team have had their awareness and understanding of working with children with CP increased. Jean-Pierre’s expertise and ability to explain his approach and developing our understanding of how we can change our practise to influence our interventions and treatment plans was brilliant.
It has deepened my understanding of Physiotherapy for a child with Cerebral Palsy. My knowledge and understanding of cerebral palsy is as a SLT with 30 years’ experience so having cerebral palsy explained by a Physiotherapist has enhanced and deepened my knowledge and understanding about how the brain impacts on function and skill development.
The holistic approach clearly works to impact the children’s outcomes.
It was an excellent introduction.”BB Paediatric Speech and Language Therapist
For more information about future courses, see:
http://www.maestherapy.com/next-maes-therapy-courses/
NHS & M.A.E.S. Therapy
MAES Therapy works with over 40 NHS Trusts around the UK who have invited M.A.E.S. Therapy to either provide highly specialised ‘In-Service’ training for their therapists (PT, OT, SLT), or have sent Therapists from their Trust to attend MAES Therapy Training Courses to gain new knowledge and improved clinical analysis and clinical skills for treating babies and children with Cerebral Palsy and similar neuro-developmental conditions and movement disorders.
MAES Therapy is a pioneering evidence-based approach, underpinned by practice evidence, patient evidence and contextual evidence from 35 years’ expert clinical and teaching experience world-wide and focusing on excellent treatment skills.
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M.A.E.S. Therapy is the new gold standard for treating children with Cerebral Palsy and similar neuro-developmental conditions and movement disorders; with more effective long-term outcomes compared to other therapeutic approaches such as Bobath-NDT, Vojta, Medek, DMI, CME
