History
The Natural Therapeutic and Osteopathic Society (NTOS) was founded in 1948 and formed a school initially titled the Croydon School of Osteopathy. The Founder and first Principal of the school was Horace Jarvis, whose philosophy and principles of osteopathy were adopted by the school. Initially, the school offered a course of nine hours per week for three years. The school has evolved steadily and rapidly from its modest beginnings in much the same way that osteopathy has evolved since its inception, in 1874, by Dr Andrew Taylor Still.
Originally the school offered students training in both Naturopathy and Osteopathy as part of their curriculum. However since 1977 the School has concentrated solely on Osteopathy. It was at this time that the school renamed itself the London School of Osteopathy (LSO).
In the late 1980s, it was becoming increasingly clear that the profession of osteopathy was moving slowly towards graduate entry. To this end the LSO gained successful validation of a BSc (Hons) Osteopathy in 1993, with the first cohorts graduating with this award in 1998.
In the osteopathic profession at large there were important moves afoot. Up until this time the profession was split, and was represented by different organisations and groupings. The drive towards degree status by the different schools meant that educational standards had improved with a convergence of similar standards amongst the schools. The time was right to seek statutory recognition and regulation.
In July 1993, the Osteopaths' Act was passed into law. This provided for the setting up of a regulatory body, the General Osteopathic Council (GOsC), to regulate standards and to protect the public. There are several specific and explicit functions that include:
- Setting up and maintaining a register of osteopaths
- Development and maintenance of standards of the osteopathic profession
- Accreditation of providers of osteopathic education
- Development of a code of conduct and a disciplinary process for transgressions of the code
While the process of registration of individual osteopaths was occurring the GOsC also invited schools of osteopathy to apply for Recognised Qualification (RQ) status as providers of osteopathic education. The LSO entered this process with confidence and received RQ status in the first wave of osteopathic schools. In fact, it was one of only five to be accredited and the only fully part-time course to succeed. RQ status is evidence of a provider's ability to deliver a program that develops and enables the capabilities of the student to the required standard of proficiency by the time they graduate.
At that time, the criteria used to determine capabilities required of osteopaths (and therefore courses) was the Standards of Proficiency 2000 (S2K). This has been added to by the publication of a Benchmark Statement for Osteopathy. This in turn has paved the way for the development of an enhanced programme, leading to an integrated undergraduate masters award. The first cohort achieving this award are expected to complete their studies in 2011.
Key dates:
- 1874 Andrew Taylor Still founds osteopathy in the USA.
- 1892 Still founds the first American school of osteopathy in Kirksville.
- 1898 J Martin Littlejohn, a student of Still, introduces osteopathy to the UK.
- 1948 Croydon School of Osteopathy founded.
- 1977 The school is renamed the London School of Osteopathy.
- 1993 The LSO validated as a BSc (Hons) degree course
- 1993 The Osteopaths Act is passed.
- 1998 General Osteopathic Council (GOsC) opens its register to osteopaths.
- 2000 LSO has the first fully part-time course to gain accreditation from the GOsC.
- 2001 The LSO moved to its present site.
- 2004 The LSO expands its premises.
- 2004 The LSO’s Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) for physiotherapists and doctors validated and accredited.
- 2007 The first ALP students graduate.
- 2008 Publication of the QAA Benchmark Statement for Osteopathy
- 2009 The new MOst / BOst (Hons) pathways are validated.
- 2000 Leadership of the LSO passes to Robin Kirk, the current Principal