Francesca has been working full-time at bOunceT since August 2019 – initially in the role of ‘Play Co-ordinator’ within our Inclusive & Meaningful Play project – but throughout her time at bOunceT she has developed her role into being the services Occupational Therapist. In addition, Francesca is part of our ‘operational’ Leadership Team*. She qualified as an Occupational Therapist in 2018 and worked as an OT for NHS Forth Valley before joining us here at bOunceT. Prior to qualifying as an OT, Francesca completed a BSc (Hons) in psychology and worked in special schools and in community with individuals with physical and neurological conditions. She also volunteered abroad in a mental health hospital and in orphanages in Sri Lanka for 1 summer. Francesca is very open about growing up being a young carer for her mum who has Cerebral Palsy- something that inspired her to pursue Occupational Therapy as a career.
Francesca is the Designated Child Protection Officer (DCPO) for the service and has also completed in training in Mental Health First Aid and Emergency First Aid for people with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities. She has also completed some other exciting training in her time here including the level 1 Makaton qualification and a leadership qualification through Just Enterprise.
Additionally, Francesca was involved in running weekly parent-groups as part of a nationwide clinical trial through the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) and University of Edinburgh. Francesca will be completing a postgraduate programme in Sensory Integration alongside her work at bOunceT.
Outside of her work here at bOunceT, Francesca enjoys performing in a local amateur dramatics group and enjoys travelling when she can.
To read more about Francesca’s journey into Occupational Therapy, click here: https://chooseot.co.uk/hear-from-our-people/francesca-smart/
To find out more about our Operational & Strategic Leadership Teams, click here: