Head of therapy and clinical services appointed at Sundial Therapy

Sundial Therapy, a provision part of the Remarkable Group, has appointed Susie Grubert as its new head of therapy and clinical services. 

Based in Newton-le-Willows, Sundial Therapy seeks to fully engage with autistic individuals to help support their independence. It provides integrated and target-direct therapy for Wargrave House School and Ascent Specialist Autism College. 

Susie has a strong therapy background, having started her working life during her A-level studies as a teaching assistant at special needs schools, she immediately felt aligned to the work and took a permanent position as soon as it was offered. It was then that Susie developed an interest in working with young, autistic individuals. 

She explained: “This role introduced me to a range of therapists, and I eventually decided to train as an occupational therapist myself. I attended Salford University in Manchester, where I achieved a first-class honours degree in occupational therapy and successfully obtained my first post, band 5, on an open acute CAMHS ward.” 

Susie spent two years in post before moving onto a job at a specialist further education college in Manchester, eager to learn more about autism and explore Ayres sensory integration therapy. After completing the training and even progressing to be the OT team lead, she took up a role at a former colleague’s service, providing Ofsted-registered children’s homes for young people with autism. After seven years with the company, she felt ready for a new adventure. 

As head of therapy and clinical services at Sundial, Susie will be responsible for the leadership and management of the therapy team in addition to the strategic development of the service they provide. She plans to do this through the delivery of training, embedding new strategies, and more. 

Susie said: “My vision is to develop a therapeutic and clinical service that will provide outstanding support to both staff and young people with embedded practice. By up-skilling education staff, the wider team around the young people and their families, we will be better able to facilitate sustainable change for the young people and will be more likely to see them achieve their full potential. 

“I am also keen to work within the community to promote understanding of autism and how to develop accessible environments to improve social integration.” 

Upon researching Remarkable Autism Charity and learning more about its provisions, Susie was drawn to the community feel and the alignment of her own values and ethos: “I am confident that I will be able to contribute to the achievement of establishing a sense of community and care amongst all (the charity’s) members so that both staff and students can experience the benefits of being accepted and contribute towards the wider society.” 

CEO of Remarkable Autism Charity, Robin Bush, commented: “All of us at Remarkable are delighted to welcome Susie. She has a wealth of experience that will hugely benefit our Sundial Therapy Service and in turn our wider organisation.

“We are excited at developing new therapeutic approaches that will benefit all our students and young people, greatly enhancing the services that we already offer. I know that Susie will do a fantastic job leading the therapy team to further success, ultimately supporting many more young, autistic individuals and fulfilling our Remarkable mission.”