The Communication Trust: Ensuring children s communication becomes the Talk of the Town

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1 The Communication Trust: Ensuring children s communication becomes the Talk of the Town Communication difficulties: the need In the UK, evidence shows that 10% of all children have some form of long term speech, language and communication need (SLCN). This can affect them early, severely and for life. In areas of social deprivation, a staggering 50% of children start school with delayed language putting them on the back foot as they start to formally learn in the classroom. Without speech, language and communication skills, children find it hard to make friends, socialise and learn. Children who struggle to develop language, struggle with learning to read. The correlation between children with SLCN and low educational attainment, poor job prospects and emotional and behavioural difficulties is strong. As John Bercow MP said in his 2008 report on SLCN, evidence illustrates that there is insufficient understanding of the centrality of SLCN among policy makers and commissioners nationally and locally, professionals and service providers, and sometimes parents and families themselves. The Government recently announced plans to introduce a two year progress checker, in which all children aged 2 3 years old will be screened for SLCN. The Communication Trust, a coalition of nearly 50 voluntary organisations with expertise in speech, language and communication, welcomes this move and recommends early identification is followed with timely evidence based interventions and workforce development strategies to support children. The Trust is delighted that the Government recoginise that early years identification and intervention at the earliest possible point is critical and have committed to introducing an early language screen. However, there is also an increased need for later checks on children s speech, language and communication to identify children who may be difficult to spot in the early years and because SLCN can affect children at different ages and stages. Some children may have long term special educational needs, which are identified; some start school with language delay, which may be mild, moderate or so severe that it can significantly impact on other areas of learning and lead to longer term difficulties. The Communication Trust firmly believes a needs led approach, supporting those children who have the potential to catch up to do so and supporting those with longer term difficulties to enable them to access all opportunities for learning and social interaction. Regardless of cause, working together with parents and professionals around the child, is vital. Although in some areas labelling children can determine services they receive, a needs led approach, with a strong evidenced approach ensures the needs of all children are met.

2 A multi agency approach which tackles SLCN at every stage of their development is crucial. Each and every child, no matter what the diagnosis, deserves the most appropriate expertise and support at the right time for their child. The Trust would advocate strong school leadership, positioning speech, language and communication as the foundation life skill, so that the school ethos is built on a communication friendly environment, with quality first teaching to support speech, language and communication in all children, inclusive parent and community involvement with a graduated approach to support all children including those who need targeted and specialist support. Modelling best practice: Talk of the Town An innovative project Talk of the Town, run by The Communication Trust, has sharpened focus on the need and merits of a community wide approach from 0 19 to support children s speech, language and communication. Talk of the Town, currently being delivered in Wythenshawe, (Greater Manchester), brings together a Federation of schools, early years settings, speech and language therapy services, private organisations and charities to support children s speech, language and communication. Embedded centrally is the Trust s recommendation that a multi agency approach results in more effective early identification of children s needs and that evidenced interventions are developed to support all children s communication development. The Communications Trust have emphasised the vital importance of effective joint working and integrated commissioning for speech and language services. The Trust also feels that the new Health and Wellbeing Boards are best placed to ensure integrated working between commissioners of children s services. The Talk of the Town project also fits ideally with the Government SEN Green Paper which recognises the importance of speech, language and communication skills for children and states that laying the foundations for early language development is at the heart of high quality early years experience. The Green Paper also had a key focus on early identification for children with SEN. It addresses the worryingly high need of language delay that exists, especially in areas of social deprivation. This level of language delay is not specific to Wythenshawe; communities across the UK are experiencing similar levels for example Stoke on Trent, areas within Nottingham, Sheffield and London, some of which are taking a city wide approach to supporting speech, language and communication. Assessment of all nursery age children across the primary schools in the Manchester Federation found that 26% of children have such poor speech, language and communication skills that in many areas they would qualify for a Statement of Special Educational Needs. It also showed that in total over 50% of children starting school are in need of extra support to help them with their speech, language and communication skills.

3 Despite commitment from senior leaders and their teams, too often the needs of children are hidden. The Communication Trust s sampling of children as they progress through school identified continued high levels of SLCN and the challenges faced by staff in accurately identifying those children who are not at age appropriate levels and in need of extra support. Talk of the Town builds on existing evidence and current good practice to create a community solution using the best interventions and support available. It is one community s proactive approach to supporting speech, language and communication within their local community and aligns well with Government plans to integrate services and pool budgets. Breaking new ground Talk of the Town is an example of multi agency working between a range of local and national partners. The project encapsulates a range of evidence based interventions and has a focus on workforce development, all of which is known to support language development. The project brings together members of the community and school leadership to deliver an effective model of intervention across the community including: Workforce development for the entire children s workforce Tools to support early identification across phases Evidence based interventions at every level of the curriculum Opportunities for parents to engage in their child s SLC development A focus on sustainability through community wide strategic planning The project s success is based on the collective efforts of the community with the support of national voluntary organisations from The Communication Trust s consortium. This includes I CAN, the National Literacy Trust, Makaton and Symbol. Alongside the commitment from school staff, members of the community are ensuring the project has the greatest impact possible, for example involvement of parents, local children s centre managers who have linked with local colleges and young people, early years workers and the museums and galleries services. The local children s centres are running increasingly popular Stay and Play sessions and setting up new activities for families including Babbling Babies sessions. A Getting Ready for School project is supporting families with their child s communication and parent and nursery age children are engaging with activities in their local museums. The project also links into local family residential work and encompasses a Communication Leaders project enabling year olds to become communication advocates. They will work to tackle the communication issues that they, their siblings and their family / friends experience. Furthermore parents are central to the community approach. National charities I CAN and the National Literacy Trust are running volunteer led projects to engage families in their children s communication, whilst also offering training for parents.

4 The project works with Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) and the local speech and language therapy department to ensure that all children are supported. For example, in Manchester The Communication Trust has worked closely with the team developing a resource provision for children with specific language impairment and autistic spectrum disorders, ensuring links are clear and workforce development for staff is synergised. Ongoing liaison with the project s speech and language therapist and her specialist NHS colleagues ensures efficiency of approach for children with SEN. Through joint working Talk of The Town supports the needs of all children and creates a language rich environment which enhances all children s development. Just the beginning Despite all this good work, there is a long way to go. Neil Wilson, Executive Head of the Manchester Federation, has a clear understanding of the importance of speech, language and communication, describing it as the holy grail for the youngsters in the federation and wider community, though he also acknowledges the scale of the task in hand. To me the work we are doing is life changing. It is difficult work because sometimes people will think things will change immediately. It won t, the changes we are striving for in the community will take a decade. The Communication Trust s recent findings in Wythenshawe has furthered evidenced the need for a range of strategies to support children and young people s speech, language and communication, especially in areas of social deprivation where language delay is so great. The Manchester Federation, as part of Talk of the Town, has proactively and collectively embarked on a 15 year strategy to ensure a continuum of effective support for the children and young people within their community. In the short and medium term, The Communication Trust anticipates seeing the following changes: Staff have improved confidence, knowledge and skills to identify and support children with SLC(N) New partnerships developed within the community Changes to classroom practice to embed speaking and listening and support SLCN Positive changes for children targeted through specific interventions Many lessons learned we are aiming to achieve a lot in a short space of time; we hope to present the lessons learned on best ways to make these changes Increased awareness in parents of the importance of speech, language and communication for their children A long term plan to continue work on speech, language and communication within the federation and beyond Identification of areas in need of additional work next steps

5 A recent milestone includes Benchill School s recent Ofsted report where they achieved Good with outstanding features in a recent Ofsted report. Inspectors praised the Manchester Federation, governance and middle / senior leaders and commented positively on the partnership working with the Communication Trust. Changes will be seen in the language skills of children in the short and medium term, but by the time the current intake of children progress to secondary schools, the Manchester Federation is optimistic there will be clear, measurable progress in speech, language and communication and beyond. Such progress will help large numbers of children as well as help secure ongoing improvements in Ofsted assessment, given that for schools to become outstanding they will need to ensure that they develop and apply communication skills across the curriculum. Continued support is needed to build capacity within the Federation and community to ensure the work being trail blazed through Talk of the Town can be sustained and duplicated in other communities. Leading the way As a leading coalition of voluntary organisations with partnerships spanning the voluntary, private and public sector, The Communication Trust recommends a range of approaches to support the early identification of SLCN. In addition to this, the Trust recommends a range of strategies to support children at whatever age they present the need as Talk of the Town crystallises in its approach. Recommendations include: Continued Professional Development (CPD) for the entire children s workforce so they can support language and communication skills in all children including those with SLCN. A new Level 3 Award in speech, language and communication from 0 19 is a valuable CPD opportunity for practitioners. Tools to support early identification of SLCN across all phases. Evidenced approaches, techniques and interventions to support communication development and SLCN across all phases. Many of these have been drawn from a What Works compendium of evidenced interventions, which is being developed by the Better Communication Research Programme team in collaboration with The Communication Trust. Health visitors; in some areas health visitors are an effective way in which families are given information and guidance on how to support their child s SLCN. A progress checker at entry into nursery Government policy, in line with the UK National Screening Committee (UKNSC), the body responsible for screening policy, recommends that children should be offered screening for visual impairment between four and five years of age and access to audiology services throughout childhood.

6 Throughout recent years, the Communication Trust has helped secure a number of important policy developments that will have a vital impact on the lives of children and young people with SLCNs. In particular: o John Bercow MP s review of services for children and young people with SLCN which led to the Government publishing the Better Communication Action Plan backed by 52 million for the sector. o Recognition in the Government s SEN and Disability Green Paper of the importance of speech, language and communication skills and the crucial focus on early identification for children with SEN. o The positive development that the Government accepted many of the measures set out in Dame Clare Tickell s report on the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) including the recommendation that communication skills be a core part of the revised EYFS. o A recommendation in Frank Field MP s report into child poverty to establish a set of Life Chances Indicators to measure how children are progressing at the ages of three and five. o New additions relating to communication skills are included in the Ofsted School Inspection Framework which will be used from January The guidance on both achievement of pupils at the school and quality of teaching cites communication skills alongside reading, writing, communication and mathematical skills. So far, screening for speech, language and communication at school entry is being reviewed by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC). The Communication Trust urges the UK NSC to recommend screening policy for SLCN to be in line with the policy for visually and hearing impaired children. The need for projects such as Talk of the Town is strong and the Trust is calling for policy and Government backing to continue to ensure children fulfil their potential through good speech, language and communication. We want all our young people to have the communication skills they need to succeed in a 21 st century economy. Importantly, no child with SLCN deserves to fall through the net. We must ensure their needs are met in an effective and timely manner to avoid longer term costs to individuals, families and communities in the future. For more information Read more on Talk of the Town in the recently published report Communication in Schools: A case Study in Wythenshaweavailable to download at If you have any questions or enquiries, please contact: Eve Wagg, Programme Manager

7 The Communication Trust