Case study
A smoother start, for every new family.
Foundations Therapy & Support is a Melbourne paediatric occupational therapy practice that works mostly in schools. I helped them connect the tools they already use, Splose and Microsoft 365, so every new enquiry follows the same clear path from first contact to first session.
4 min read
- Practice
- Paediatric OT, Melbourne
- Engagement
- Intake & onboarding
- Built on
- Splose, Microsoft 365, Teams
- Live since
- August 2026
Where it started
A growing practice, and more to keep track of.
As the practice grew, new families were getting in touch in a few different ways: through the website, by email, over the phone and through the referral form. Keeping track of where each family was up to took time and a lot of manual follow-up.
Jake Du Chateau, the director, wanted every family to have the same experience from their first message, and his team to spend less time on admin and more time with the children they support.
Before: four places to check
- Website form → an email notification
- Email → the admin inbox
- Phone call → a note to follow up
- Referral form → Splose
Who's up to what, and who needs a nudge, tracked by hand.
Now: one place
- Referral form sent straight away
- Reminders go out on their own
- Booking link sent once the agreement is signed
A family should only ever need to know one thing: what happens next.
What we built
One clear path, from first contact to first session.
One place for every enquiry
Every enquiry lands on one board in the practice's own Microsoft 365, however it came in. Families get the referral form straight away, with friendly reminders until it's returned.
Everything in view
When a referral form comes back, everything needed sits in one place: team availability, who already works at that school or nearby, and possible days. Time goes into deciding, not searching.
Booking that suits the family
The moment the paperwork is signed, the family gets an email from their therapist's own inbox, with a link to book straight into their calendar. No more "Are you free Tuesday at 2pm?"
In Jake's words
What changed, from the director's chair.
Jake Du Chateau, Director at Foundations Therapy & Support, on what running the practice looks like now.
Video not loading? Watch it on Tella (2 min 40).
Why it works
Three choices that made it stick.
- People stay in charge
- The system looks things up and sends reminders. Every decision about a family stays with Jake and his team.
- Built on tools they already use
- Splose for the clinical side, Microsoft 365 and Teams for everything else. No new app for the team to learn, and the email wording lives in a single list they can change themselves.
- It flags anything that needs a person
- If a family needs a hand, the right person gets a note, so nothing relies on someone remembering.
Where it landed
Clearer for families, lighter for the team.
One board
for every new enquiry, whichever way it arrives, from first contact to ongoing sessions.
Reminders on their own
Referral form and booking reminders go out without anyone chasing by hand.
Families choose the time
First calls are booked straight into their therapist's calendar.
It feels like I've got an actual business now.
The wider point
Most clinics I talk to don't have a therapy problem. They have an admin problem. Every step between a family's first enquiry and their first session is done by hand, and it lands on the people who would rather be with clients.
The fix is rarely new software. It's taking those steps, putting them in one place, and letting the system handle the reminders, so the team can get back to the families.