MOTIF
MOdelling Therapies for Improved Futures
Estimating the therapy workforce needed to meet the needs of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
At a glance
- Study type
- National study: evidence synthesis, multi-stakeholder engagement, and therapy workforce modelling
- Population
- Children and young people (0–18) with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
- Therapies
- Occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and speech and language therapy
- Setting
- England, national, with regional work in Greater Essex and the Midlands
- Lead organisation
- Better Communication CIC, with the University of Essex
- ChiP Lab's role
- Leading Work Package 2 (multi-stakeholder engagement)
- Funder
- NIHR Policy Research Programme (NIHR207682)
- Ethical approval
- Queen Mary University of London Research Ethics Committee (QM REC ref: QME26.2470)
- Dates
- March 2026 – February 2028
About the MOTIF study
MOTIF (MOdelling Therapies for Improved Futures) is a national study that estimates the therapy workforce needed to meet the needs of children and young people (0–18) with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). It focuses on three therapies, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, and speech and language therapy, and uses the Balanced System® approach to model the workforce needed based on population need rather than on diagnosis alone. The aim is to inform policy, commissioning, and workforce planning for equitable therapy services.
MOTIF is led by Marie Gascoigne at Better Communication CIC together with Professor Victoria Joffe at the University of Essex, and is funded by the NIHR Policy Research Programme (NIHR207682). Full information about the study, and updates as it progresses, are on the main MOTIF website: bettercommunication.org.uk/motif-study.
The ChiP Lab's role: Work Package 2
The ChiP Lab leads Work Package 2, the study's multi-stakeholder engagement. Work Package 2 gathers the views of the people who shape therapy services for children and young people with SEND, through four pieces of work:
- a national survey of therapy professionals,
- a national focus group with professional associations,
- regional participatory workshops with children, young people, and families, and
- regional focus groups with commissioners.
These views inform the workforce modelling at the heart of MOTIF. Work Package 2 is led by Dr Hortensia Gimeno.
Take part in the therapy workforce survey
We are surveying practising children's therapists and therapy assistants about therapy services for children and young people with SEND, what current practice looks like, how well it works, and what an integrated, whole-system workforce should look like.
- Who can take part: occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, and therapy assistants working with children and young people, in any setting, including health, social care, local authorities, or independent practice.
- What is involved: one online survey, completed via a link or a QR code.
- Between 20 and 30 minutes to complete.
- Anonymous and voluntary.
Team
Dr Hortensia Gimeno, Queen Mary University of London, Lead for Workpackage 2
Libby Stirling, Queen Mary University of London, Research Assistant
Marie Gascoigne, Better Communication CIC, Chief Investigator
Professor Vicky Joffe, University of Essex, Co-Principal Investigator
Professor Reinhold Scherer, University of Essex, Professor of Brain-Computer Interfaces and Neural Engineering, quantitative modelling and computer-based simulations
Dr Emma Pagnamenta, University of Reading, Lead for young person and parent engagement and public involvement
Sophia Hill, young person with lived experience of SEND, co-researcher
Sharon Tuppeny, Better Communication CIC, Children's Occupational Therapist
Maxine Darby, Better Communication CIC, Children's Physiotherapist
Outputs
- The study is under way and has not yet produced outputs. As MOTIF progresses we will share publications, conference presentations, and plain-language summaries here. Updates are also posted on the main MOTIF website.
Acknowledgements
MOTIF is a national programme led by Marie Gascoigne (Better Communication CIC) and Professor Victoria Joffe (University of Essex), in partnership with Queen Mary University of London and the University of Reading, using the Balanced System approach.
Work Package 2 is led by Dr Hortensia Gimeno and the Childhood Participation Lab (ChiP Lab) at Queen Mary University of London.
Funded by the NIHR Policy Research Programme (NIHR207682). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.
For full study information, visit the main MOTIF website: https://www.bettercommunication.org.uk/motif-study/
Contact
- For specific queries about the ChiP Lab's work package (Work Package 2) on MOTIF, contact: chiplab@qmul.ac.uk
- For more general queries about the whole MOTIF programme, contact: Motif@bettercommunication.org.uk