We do this by supporting education and research in physiotherapy to benefit
We also promote research and its dissemination to the wider public.
We offer grants to fund post-graduate education and research into physiotherapy that will benefit patients and the public, supporting those giving care to anyone in need of physiotherapy. Grants are awarded three times a year to individuals and organisations.
PPEF was founded in 2001 as a Registered Charity and a Limited Company. The Charity owes its formation to its benefactor Kenneth Balfour who wished to leave a large part of his estate to the Organisation of Physiotherapists in Private Practice, the OCPPP; (the previous name of Physio First). PPEF awards grants widely within the physiotherapy profession to applications that fall within its objects. PPEF also works closely with Physio First but is independent from that organisation. You can view our statement about our relationship with Physio First here. Read More
PPEF awards grants widely within the physiotherapy profession to applications that fall within its objects.PPEF also works closely with Physio First but is independent from that organisation.
I qualified as a physiotherapist in July 1982, worked for 6 years in clinical practice, obtained an MSc in Rehabilitation Sciences and entered the field of physiotherapy education and research. In 1992 I was part of a team who set up a new School of Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy with an emphasis on Inter-professional education at the University of Southampton. In 2002 I became the Director of Learning and Development for the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, covering all matters of education and research. In 2004 I became Associate Dean for Consultant Practitioner Development in the Wessex Deanery; and in 2005 as the Allied Health Professions Advisor for the national Workforce Review Team (part-time).
In 2007 I became Head of Innovation and Development in the Workforce Development team of NHS South Central, obtaining my PhD in 2011. In 2015 I became the Health Dean for Health Education England ( Wessex) and lead various multi-professional initiatives. Throughout this time I’ve continued to work part-time as a clinical physiotherapist in private practice. I have been a PPEF Trustee since 2004 and Chairman of the Board since 2017
Michael is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (FCA) and the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CTA). His career has been spent, principally, in the London Insurance Market as Finance Director/Company Secretary/Compliance Officer of a number of Lloyds Insurance Brokers and insurance companies. Michael has been Honorary Treasurer of The Private Physiotherapy Educational Foundation since 2004.
Having been one of the first elected trustees in the early years of the PPEF, Sue is returning to the board with a wealth of experience, not only of her 40 years as a clinician, but also as past Chair of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy Charitable Trust. Sue was one of the first physiotherapists in the UK to carry out clinically based randomised controlled trials, as well as several small research projects, and she worked on, and piloted in her clinic, the first therapeutic clinic-specific software.
Sue’s passion and enthusiasm for the future of the PPEF, her financial understanding of grant awards, her knowledge of the legal requirements of the Charity Commission, and her prior involvement in various charity projects mean that she will be an invaluable asset to the PPEF our board of trustees.
Ann has spent most of her physiotherapy career in the higher education sector and, until recently was directly involved in teaching, research and leadership within a team of physiotherapists.
Throughout her career, Ann has been actively involved with the CSP where she has held a variety of roles that can be directly related the experience required to understand the role of a trustee. At the time of her application, Ann was Head of Life Sciences at Coventry University, however with retirement from this post, she feels that this is the perfect time to channel her energy and skills, particularly with regard to her research on the role of social media in professional networking, into supporting the work of the PPEF and helping to publicise the excellent opportunities and research activities it has to offer to a wider audience.
Gillian has enjoyed a long career as a physiotherapist in the NHS, Occupational Health and physiotherapy education. She spent 21 years in private practice, combining that with both undergraduate teaching (mainly the musculoskeletal syllabus) and postgraduate education, leading a Master’s degree for all AHPs. Gillian was on the CSP’s Council for 12 years, where she sat on various committees, including Education and the Scientific Panel. She has also been an external examiner for several post graduate validated courses and MSc programmes. Gillian has been a PPEF Trustee since 2004.
Karen has been involved with Physio First since 2008, starting as a Regional Officer for Mercia region. She then became our Regional Officer Representative on our executive committee and served on our education sub committee, which she chaired from 2015.
Having run her own private practice for over 20 years, Karen now works as a part-time associate with clinical input in musculoskeletal disorders, injection therapy and acupuncture.
Karen has served as a member of the CSP Council and chaired their Education Awards Panel. She is also a clinical educator for local university undergraduate programmes, providing practice placement for students.
She became our Physio First Chairman during the 2019 AGM at our annual conference in Nottingham
Sandy represents Physio First on the Board of Trustees. She is a private practitioner with many years experience and a past Chairman of Physio First.
Successful projects with the Stroke Association, Spinal Injuries Association, Parkinson ’s Disease Association. Numerous individual awards for MScs PhDs and Post graduate research. Poster and platform presentations at international conferences
Projects with Physio First
Becoming a PPEF member
Membership of a charity such as PPEF can bring real benefits both to the work of the charity and for society in general. When a charity’s members are active in shaping the agenda and objectives of their charity, the trustee body is refreshed and its accountability to its members is improved.
Membership is a common governance model in the Charity sector. Its popularity looks likely to continue – The Charity Commission estimates that approximately 80,000 charities have a membership structure.
Their research indicated that charities with members overwhelmingly saw the role of membership as positive, with 84% of charities with individual members and 81% with corporate members stating that their members made a useful contribution to the running of the charity.
Applying to PPEF for a grant is very easy. Download the relevant application form, complete and submit with any necessary accompanying documents e.g. confirmation of a place on a course, to PPEF by email. The Trustees meet in January, June and September to consider applications and will usually inform you of the outcome of their decision within a few days. Read More