ABOUT

Who are the UK Bobath Tutors?

Gillian Stern

MCSP GradDipPhys

She is a dedicated specialist Healthcare Professional with 50 years experience. Her field of expertise being that of paediatric neuro-physiotherapy; she works with children and adults with cerebral palsy (CP) and allied neurological conditions, and their families. She is a renowned Senior Bobath Tutor, giving postgraduate courses in the UK and overseas.

Key skills and achievements

Medico-legal report writing, producing clear, concise texts which can be used to obtain optimum results for clients.
Presentation and training, regular invitations to teach specialist courses to post graduate therapists and doctors in the UK and internationally, as well as Professional Papers given at National Events and International Conferences.
Mentoring: has supervised and mentored trainee tutors.
Leadership: is currently Chair of the UK Bobath Tutors’ Association; elected President of the European Bobath Tutors’ Association (EBTA) - a pan European Organisation responsible for standards of Tutors and courses in 19 countries - for 6 years (2012-2018) and, due to illness, was appointed short term interim manager of the Bobath Centre in the late 1990s.
Knowledge, experience and empathy: she offers effective short and long-term advice and management to children and their parents.
Writing and editing
- She has had articles, book reviews and letters published in several professional journals.
- Medico-legal reports/reports for Statutory Assessment of Educational Needs and Tribunals.
Video editing: co-wrote and edited two professional VHS videos for the Bobath Centre (1988/1995).
Designed two pieces of physiotherapy equipment in 1980s; one, a standing frame, in collaboration with the London College of Furniture, subsequently became a standard piece of equipment for children with cerebral palsy.
Lead author and collaborative author of a Guidance Booklet on Risk Assessment/Management on Manual Handling Issues and an article on Guidance on Assisted Standing with the Person with CP.

Christine Barber

MSc, MCSP, DSA(CSP), SRP

Christine is a Senior Bobath tutor, currently an independent lecturer and practitioner based in London. She has spent much of her professional life working for the Bobath Centre, where she was clinical lead for the UK Bobath Centres, and Director of the Bobath Centre London, heading up the team of highly skilled senior therapists and tutors, from 2003 to 2019 when the Centre relocated to Watford.

Christine’s interests and experience spanned both adult and paediatric neurology; prior to being invited to join the Bobath Centre staff by Berta Bobath in 1981, she had been the lead therapist of the stroke unit at University College Hospital, worked at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in post neurosurgical rehabilitation, and in community paediatrics in the East End of London.

She became a Bobath paediatric Tutor in 1985, an adult neurology Tutor in 1987, and a Senior Tutor in paediatrics in 1989 and has been involved in training and qualifying Bobath tutors nationally and internationally since then. She began teaching on Bobath baby courses in 1992.

In 1995 Christine achieved a Master of Science at East London University in Physiotherapy. In 2001 she received the distinguished service award of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy in recognition of her contribution to the treatment and wellbeing of people with cerebral palsy. She is an expert in the treatment of cerebral palsy throughout the life span and has a special interest in early intervention. Since the 1980s Christine has been an invited speaker at numerous national and international conferences including the Eastern European Academy of Childhood Disability in Israel in 2008, the European Academy of Childhood Disability in Belgium in 2010, and in Türkey in 2012, and co-presented an EACD instructional course in Georgia in 2018.

She has given Bobath courses and workshops across five continents and spoken at Bobath National Congresses in Japan, South Africa, Brazil, and Portugal and is a regular speaker at the European Bobath Tutors Congress. In 2019-2020 Christine taught on the joint master’s degree at Ghent and Leuven University.

Christine was invited by Action Cerebral Palsy to give evidence on the frequency of therapeutic intervention for children with cerebral palsy at the special select committee in the House of Parliament and contributed to the final report in 2015.

Christine is the immediate past President of the European Bobath Tutors Association.

Heather Holgate

BSc (OT) MRCOT

Heather qualified as an Occupational Therapist in 1988 at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. From the outset of her career, Heather worked with children and specifically children who have cerebral palsy. She has worked in special schools as well as in the community and private practice. Heather completed her Bobath foundation course in 1990 in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Shortly after this she moved to the UK to gain further experience and training in the field. Heather was delighted to gain the opportunity to work at the Bobath Centre in Cardiff, where she joined the team as one of the first therapists in 1994. Heather subsequently moved to the Bobath Centre in London to complete her tutor training; she qualified as a Bobath Tutor in 2000 and Senior Tutor in 2008. She has taught on a number of Bobath foundation, refresher and advanced courses over the years both in the UK and internationally, as well as led workshops on a variety of topics.

Heather has a particular interest in children’s play and how it is used in therapeutic activities and loves nothing more than seeing families play together!

Heather enjoys sharing her knowledge and experience with families and therapists and she has had opportunities to travel extensively while doing so; including to Zambia, Malawi, South Africa, Japan, Belgium and Finland. She has contributed to the development and qualification of Bobath Tutors across Europe and in South Africa.

Heather has served on the Executive Committee of the European Bobath Tutors Association 2000 - 2020, a role which brings her in contact with Bobath therapists from across the world.

Marie Stanley

BSc, MCSP

Marie graduated with a BSc in Physiotherapy from King’s College, London in 1999. Her career began by completing her junior rotations in a Kent Hospital, before moving to Roehampton to start working in community paediatrics. She moved to the Bobath Centre in London in 2002, seeking to learn more about cerebral palsy and the specialised therapy that can help.

Twenty-two years later she can say that she has treated numerous children and young adults with many varied presentations of cerebral palsy, so that she knows that everyone really is an individual and each needs a therapeutic approach that recognises and embraces this. She loves working with each person to find out what will help them to achieve what they want to achieve and handing over the activities for them to do at home.

She has learnt and continues to learn so much from the children and families and is passionate about sharing her knowledge and skills through the provision of training courses. She completed a Professional Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher and Professional Education with the Institute of Education, London in 2012 and is a Senior Bobath tutor. She endeavours to keep abreast of current clinical and pedagogical practice and is a committed member of UKBTA (UK Bobath Tutors Association), EBTA (European Bobath Tutors Association), BABTT (British Association of Bobath Trained Therapists) and APCP (Association of Paediatric Chartered Physiotherapists).

Prof. Margaret J Mayston

AM PhD SFHEA FCSP FACPIN

Trained initially as a physiotherapist in Melbourne, Australia and then worked at the Royal Children’s Hospital until travelling to London to undertake specialist studies in childhood neurodisability (Bobath). This was followed by pivoting to a career in science in by the completion of an MSc in Human & Applied Physiology (Kings College London), a PhD in neurophysiology, and then 3-year Wellcome Trust funded postdoctoral fellowship both at University College London (UCL).

Since 2000 she has combined a clinical and academic career based at University College London where she is currently a Professor (teaching) in the Division of Biosciences at UCL teaching neuroscience and general physiology on undergraduate programmes.

She also gives sessions on Child Development for the MSc Advanced Pediatrics (UCL) and as a Senior Bobath Tutor (pediatrics) she also teaches on Foundation courses and other courses globally and is involved in tutor training. She also contributes to online and in-person seminars, conferences and workshops in the UK and internationally.

Virginia Knox

MRES, MSc, PGCE, MCSP

Virginia Knox is a Paediatric Physiotherapist with over 30 years’ experience working with children with cerebral palsy, first in the NHS, then at the Bobath Centre, London and now leads a community paediatric team in a London teaching hospital. Research interests include standardised outcome measurement, determining efficacy of therapy and early intervention,
publishing in many peer reviewed journals. Virginia has Masters’ degrees in Clinical Neuroscience and Research, a Post Graduate Certificate in Education and is a senior paediatric Bobath tutor. She trains therapists in using outcome measures and assessment and treatment of children with cerebral palsy, throughout the UK and internationally, including several developing
countries.

Jenny Carroll

MA, MCSP, PGC(HE)

Jenny is Centre Director and Consultant Physiotherapist at Cerebral Palsy Cymru, a specialist therapy centre for children living with cerebral palsy. She has 35+ years experience in childhood disability.

Jenny contributes broadly to the field of childhood disability currently holding the following extended roles.

Co-Lead, Cerebral Palsy Register for Wales
European Academy of Childhood Disability (EACD). representative on the Governing Council of the International Alliance of Academies of Childhood Disability (IAACD).
Chair, Global Professional Education Committee of the IAACD.
Chair, IAACD Nomination Committee.
Expert Advisory Panel Member for EiSMART an approach to early intervention.
Member of the scientific committee for 3rd European Paediatric Physiotherapy Congress.

Jenny is a Senior Bobath Tutor

Jenny has taught and presented work in 19 countries as well as contributing the MacKeith press Child Development and Disability Essentials’ https://www.mackeith.co.uk/child-development-and-disability-essentials/course. Launched in June 2024. Jenny is a founder of and contributor to the IAACD Knowledge Hub https://iaacd.net/knowledge-hub/

Raj qualified as a physiotherapist in 1997 and has worked with children since 1999. He received a Masters degree in 2001 from the Madras University. After completing the Bobath Foundation Course in Spring 2001, Raj joined the Bobath Centre in London in 2004 as a physiotherapist and engaged in treating babies, children, adolescents and adults with cerebral palsy and other neurological conditions.

Raj progressed to become a clinical expert physiotherapist and senior Bobath tutor. He holds a teaching certificate for professionals from the Institute of Education, London and a certification in sensory integration from the USA.

Raj completed his Adult Bobath Training in 2020. He led the therapy-informed Adult Annual Review services at the Bobath Centre. He has presented papers at international conferences.

Raj is committed to helping babies, children, adolescents, and adults with cerebral palsy live a good quality of life. He is very passionate about training health professionals from NHS and worldwide to reach out to many persons with cerebral palsy.

Rajan Rajkumar

MSc

Miriam Pollitt

MSc MPhil MCSP

Miriam has over 25 years’ experience in the paediatric field as a physiotherapist and has provided training and mentoring to trainee paediatric professionals both within the UK NHS and internationally.

She has a passion for Early Intervention, advocating for and empowering parents.

She has enjoyed working within a community NHS physiotherapy role, alongside co-workers and the various agencies. She works collaboratively in different settings, such as Complex Physical Needs Clinics, Joint Paediatrician/ Physiotherapy Clinics and Plaster Clinics.

As a founder member and director of the Early Intervention Centres (EIC) in Slovakia, she designed/developed a pilot study, which was supported by the Slovakian Government. She has worked with colleagues within different services to design and development service pathways, which provided opportunities to incorporate best practice and national treatment guidance; as well as constructively challenge processes.

She qualified as a Bobath Tutor in 2011. She is a committed member of UKBTA (UK Bobath Tutors Association), EBTA (European Bobath Tutors Association), BABTT (British Association of Bobath Trained Therapists) and APCP (Association of Paediatric Chartered Physiotherapists).