Graduated Approach - Speech Language and Communication Needs

This Guidance is written regarding the 2015 SEND Code of Practice and The Communication Trust's Communicating the Code

The Communication Interaction Team (CIT), like The Communication Trust, follows a social model of disability. This model recognises that any needs a child or young person (CYP) may have do not need to be disabling if those around them understand their needs and can remove the barriers that get in the way of learning and wellbeing.

The CIT Language Team support children and young people in mainstream schools and settings aged 4 to 19 years with speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN) and Developmental Language Disorder (DLD).

This guidance outlines how the CIT Language Team supports schools and settings at the Universal, Targeted and Specialist levels of the SEND Graduated approach to inclusion. We can be involved at all stages of the assess-plan-do-review cycle.

This guidance also suggests how schools and settings can support children and young people with speech, language, and communication needs.

SEND Code of Practice

The SEND Code of Practice (January 2015) defines speech, language, and communication needs as follows:

Communication and Interaction

Children and young people with speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN) have difficulty communicating with others. This may be because they have difficulty saying what they want, understand what is being said to them, or do not understand or use social rules of communication. The profile for every child with speech, language, and communication needs is different, and their needs may change over time. They may have difficulty with one, some, or all of the different aspects of speech, language, or social communication at different times of their lives.

Universal

Definition: Support that should be available to all children to promote speech, language, and communication development and to enable effective early identification of children who may be struggling.

The CIT Language Team supports you by:

Providing training and information
Consulting with staff to discuss general strategies or differentiation
Keeping the CIT webpage and Local Offer updated
Responding to emails or phone calls for general speech, language and communication needs advice and signposting
Providing information on particular areas of speech, language and communication needs such as vocabulary, phonological awareness, etc

Schools and settings can support you by:

Understanding the SEND Code of Practice in relation to speech, language, and communication needs.
Communicating the Code helps all those involved with children and young people (CYP) with speech, language, and communication needs fulfil their responsibilities effectively under the SEND Code of Practice.
Sign up for the Communication Commitment, a free resource to support all children and young people's language and communication skills.
Developing an awareness of speech, language, and communication needs through free online professional training. See also the SLC Framework.
Asking children and young people questions at the right developmental level.
Identifying speech, language, and communication needs effectively. See also RADLD.
Understanding the 'ages and stages' of typical language development to inform planning and differentiation. See also Progression Tools and ICAN's Progress Checker.
Using appropriate resources, strategies, and interventions to support speech, language, and communication needs at the universal level.
Finding out about children's and young people's views on their speech, language, and communication needs. See also a brief guide to SLCN.
Having a 'Communication-Friendly' environment.
Talking to parents about children and young people's SLCN. See also Afasic.
Becoming a Language Champion or a Language Leader.
Supporting trainees and newly qualified teachers.
Monitoring and tracking children and young people's progress and early years.

Targeted

Definition: Support to describe additional or different support or intervention for children who are struggling with elements of speech, language, and/or communication; this may be individual or group support.

The CIT Language team supports you by:

Holding consultative planning meetings with SENCOs
Providing transition support and advice at all key stages
Providing Early Years 'bespoke' DLD/transition training for schools and settings
Providing training on particular interventions, such as Colourful Semantics or topics requested by schools or settings
Attending multi-disciplinary meetings to advise on children and young people not already known to the team
Contributing to TAMs/EHATs/EHCPs
Carrying out observations to inform advice and interventions
Carrying out standardised language assessments
Advising on targeted interventions such as language groups
Advising on teaching strategies to support speech, language and communication needs
Supporting schools and settings with 'SMART' targets for IEPs, PEPs and Provision Maps
Advising on differentiation and adaptation
Providing written feedback via emails or reports
Meeting with parents

Schools and settings can support you by:

Using appropriate resources, strategies, and interventions to support speech, language, and communication needs at a targeted level.

Visuals
Widgit symbols
Clicker literacy support
BLANK language activities
Black Sheep Press speech and language resources (3 years to adult)

Specialist

Definition: The specialist level includes individualised assessment, intervention and support from specialist practitioners (such as Speech and Language Therapists) in order for the child to make progress

The CIT Language Team supports you by:

Carrying out standardised language assessments
Writing language assessment reports for MASPs and EHCPs
Delivering training in specialist areas of speech, language and communication needs, such as DLD or Paget Gorman Signed Speech (PGSS)
Demonstrating teaching strategies to support significant language needs, such as DLD
1:1 teaching to target particular receptive or expressive language needs
Working jointly and intensively with Speech and Language Therapists (SALTs) to support a CYP's particular language needs
Attending and advising on TAMS/EHCP reviews
Providing personalised transition advice for CYP
Linking with the Specialist Language Support Centres
Attending DLD multi-agency focus group to share developments to inform practice
Meeting with parents of CYP with SLCN/DLD

Schools can support you by:

Using appropriate resources, strategies, and interventions to support speech, language, and communication needs at a specialist level.