Services for Education Providers

C&D Independent Speech & Language Therapy have an ongoing successful partnership with more than 60 specialist and mainstream schools across Essex, Bristol, Bath, South Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

We work closely with Schools, Early Years Settings and Clinical Commissioning Groups to support children who have speech, language and communication difficulties. We have a great deal of experience setting up services and working alongside existing provision (e.g. local NHS services) and pride ourselves on providing a gold standard service that is tailored to meet the needs of each school. We supply all of our settings with a designated therapist who is heavily supported in terms of supervision, training/CPD and continuous access to a highly-skilled team.

C&D offer a range of assessment and screening packages that include reports, targets and advice. We are able to provide detailed reports for Education, Health & Care Plan (EHCP) applications and transfers. Impact reports are provided to measure progress and evidence the effectiveness of our service.

We regularly provide the following intervention approaches:

Universal Support

Working with teaching staff to ensure the child or young person is constantly surrounded by people who know how to:

• support speech, language and communication development
• maximise current receptive and expressive language skills– at home and in the classroom
• identify when a child may have a SLCN and know how to access speech and language therapy services

Targeted Support

Focusing on those children where universal input is not enough. Targeted at children and young people known to have a SLCN (or at risk of developing such needs) and/or where there is a risk of educational, emotional or other difficulties arising as a result of their SLCN.

For children with known SLCN, targeted level support generally involves the Speech and Language Therapist:

• ‘up-skilling’ parents, teachers, classroom assistants etc. to work at every opportunity to develop particular aspects of speech and language development (such as increasing vocabulary, asking questions or expressing feelings appropriately)
• working with teachers and classroom assistants to adapt their language and teaching materials so that the child can understand and join in lessons on a day-to-day basis
• monitoring speech, language and communication development through progress reports from teachers and others, then offering support and advice on how to overcome particular difficulties and move forward

Children receiving targeted levels of therapy may still require direct input from a Speech and Language Therapist if they are not showing progress.

Specialist

Input provided to those children and young people with complex SLCN requiring detailed programmes or to those who have not responded to universal and/or targeted provision. The child sees a Speech and Language Therapist individually or in a group and then has periods of targeted work as detailed below where they do not see the therapist.

• Detailed assessment and child-centred programme that is integrated within their day-to-day school and home activities
• ‘Direct speech and language therapy’ carried out by Speech and Language Therapist
• ‘Indirect speech and language therapy’ provided via others trained to deliver the programme (e.g. parents, speech and language therapy assistants, nursing or teaching staff). Those providing indirect therapy are directed and supervised by the Speech and Language Therapist; programmes will be monitored and adapted in accordance to progress and observations

Evidence

‘2-3 children in every classroom have some form of speech, language or communication need (SLCN) with up to 50% of children in some areas of deprivation starting school with a SLCN’ (The Communication Trust, 2018).

Schools must place a strong focus on early intervention of speech, language and communication difficulties; without this, children are at risk of lower educational attainment, behavioural problems, emotional and psychological difficulties, and increased exclusions and non-attendance.

“To achieve outstanding Ofsted status the early years provision must have an extremely sharp focus on helping children to acquire communication and language skills” (Ofsted, 2012)

“Communication and language is a prime area of learning and development that must shape educational programmes in Early Years settings” (EYFS, DfE 2012)

C&D Independent Speech & Language Therapy were observed during a DfE inspection in November 2014 and deemed to be outstanding.

All therapists have enhanced DBS checks and have completed safeguarding training (minimum Level 2).