We are the instructors who SNAPS employs for the group sessions.

Sarah Cantwell
Bsc (Hons) Physiotherapy MCSP

Hi I’m Sarah, one of the physiotherapists who run the Hydrotherapy sessions.
I qualified as a Physiotherapist in June 1999 and specialised in children’s physiotherapy 7 years ago. I have worked with children with a wide range of conditions within hospitals and the community setting and currently work for the NHS with children in special schools, mainstream schools / nurseries and at a Child Development Centre. I also have a small private physiotherapy caseload.

I became involved with the SNAPS group 2 years ago and started working for SNAPS regularly in Sept 2007.

The hydrotherapy sessions we offer aim to be fun and include physiotherapy techniques and water confidence/swimming using the Halliwick Concept. The sessions are designed to compliment the physiotherapy your child is already receiving and we will discuss what you and your child would like to achieve during your first few sessions.

Parents are welcome to come in the pool with their child but if you just want to watch from the side or go and have a coffee and a chat with the other parents then that’s fine too.

Jean Ingham

Hi I’m Jean and I have worked as a qualified swimming instructor for 7 years. I have Teachers Assistant Level 1 and Teachers Level 2. I am also a qualified Water Babies Instructor.

I thoroughly enjoy working with children of all ages and abilities.

While working for Leeds City Council Leisure Services I decided to set up individual swimming lessons for children with special needs. This was the first opportunity for many children with special needs to have swimming lessons which supported their needs. This really developed my interest in working with children with special needs.

I have been involved with SNAPS for 3 years when I started being involved in the Saturday group. SNAPS have now moved on and with the Children In Needs funding I am able to support many more children. As well as the swimming lessons available on Saturdays at SNAPS I am now able to give individual lessons at leisure centres in the community- At Armley and Scott Hall. We are hoping to move in to group lessons in the near future. This means that we are able to integrate children into the community.

For me there is nothing more rewarding than seeing a child reach their potential and it gives me a real sense of achievement in my role to see a child progress.

Cath Todd

I have been a qualified Physiotherapist for 27 years, 21 of those years I have been working with children. I have worked at Clarendon Wing in Leeds, Halifax, Dewsbury and for the past 9 years in Huddersfield. At Leeds I worked with seriously ill babies and children on the wards, in Halifax and Dewsbury I worked in the Community dealing with a variety of conditions treating the children at home, school, Child Development Units and Health Centres. In Huddersfield I am the day to day manager of the Children’s Therapy Team which consists of Physio's, OT's and Speech Therapists around 30 professionals in all. I still also have a Clinical caseload for half of the week, which means I keep my clinical skills up to date and get to work with many interesting children and their families.

I have 3 children of my own, they are now 19,17and 13, when they were younger I worked part-time, for the past 9 years I have been virtually full-time. Juggling work and a family is a challenge that I am sure any working mum identifies with but I have been lucky to have a very enjoyable career and one which I am still enjoying after all these years.!! I love working with all the children in the Hydrotherapy pool as part of SNAPS and hope that we can continue to deliver this fun but therapeutic session for many years to come!