https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDSlxe0Lpfk
The winners of the 2018 Shine a Light Awards, a national awards scheme that celebrates innovative work
and excellent practise in supporting children and young people’s communication development, were revealed on 22nd March 2018 by learning company Pearson, in partnership with The Communication
Trust.
The awards, which took place at Pearson’s headquarters in London, were hosted by stand-up comedian,
actor and TV writer, Adam Hess, who struggled with dyslexia and an immense fear of public speaking
when he was younger.
I was absolutely delighted to be awarded the Katie Rough award for my work with children and teenagers with Selective Mutism.
16 other individuals and teams across 9 other award categories were recognised, as well as children and young
people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN).
Winners included:
Jonathan Bryan from Chippenham – Young Person of the Year
Inspirational 12-year old Jonathan has severe cerebral palsy, is quadriplegic, oxygen-dependent, and also
non-verbal. He has shown sheer dedication and determination in developing his own communication skills
and also raising awareness of profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD).
Through the support of his family, and his use of a low-tech eye gaze system (an e-tran frame), Jonathan
is now in mainstream secondary school. He has personally established the Teach Us Too campaign, which
urges professionals to recognise the unlocked potential of their pupils and not teach to labels. His
documentary, Locked-in Boy, recently aired on CBBC, and his autobiography is being published later this
year.
Pip St John from Blackburn – Communication Champion Award
Pip’s impact in and around Blackburn has been outstanding: she has shown incredible dedication to
enhancing the communication skills of children by training school staff and sharing advice and
information, whilst overcoming a personal battle with stage 3 breast cancer. Pip has created the PreTeaching
Vocabulary (PTV) programme which aims to help children needing extra language support. She
has made this an entirely free resource, and it is accessible online to anyone who needs it.
Stoke Speaks Out in Stoke-on-Trent – The SLCN Innovation Award and the Pearson Outstanding
Achievement Award
Awarded for their innovative Early Communication Screen (ECS) to improve the school readiness of
children from two to five, Stoke Speaks Out has positively impacted thousands of local children.
Commissioned by the Local Authority, and written by Clinical Lead Speech/Language Therapist Janet
Cooper and her team of speech and language therapists from Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Partnership
NHS Trust (SSOTP), the ECS is designed to be used by Early Years practitioners to identify early language
delay and measure children’s progress over time. Almost 7,000 children have been screened so far, with
more than 1,800 regional practitioners trained to use the programme to date.
Adam Hess, Host of the 2018 Shine a Light Awards, said: “The dedication of teams and individuals to
improve the communication skills of children and young people is humbling. As a child, I struggled
greatly with dyslexia and an immense fear of public speaking, if it wasn’t for the support I received when
I was younger I wouldn’t be in the position I am today. It has been a complete honour to host these
awards and I would like to congratulate all the winners and commended finalists. They should be very
proud of what they have achieved.”
Some other amazing winners included:
Children’s House Nursery in Stratford, London – Early Years Setting of the Year
Located within an area of high deprivation, over 90% of children at Children’s House Nursery start with
significant speech and language delays. Remarkably, by the time they move on to primary school, these
same children leave with the levels of skill expected for their age. The nursery’s success is due to a
combination of numerous initiatives including special ‘Stay, Play and Learn’ sessions conducted before
children even start at the nursery, as well as commitment to ongoing staff training, and dedicating time
to developing strong parent/carer relationships.
Pendle Primary Academy in Nelson, Lancashire – Primary School of the Year
Pendle Primary has invested in its own speech and language therapist (SLT), who works closely with
parents, staff and NHS specialists to discuss children due to start in reception. This approach ensures that
pupils receive the correct support in the crucial first years of their journey through full-time education.
The academy prides itself on its whole-school approach, which includes using signs and symbols alongside
visual timetables and special indoors ‘Communication Spaces’.
Isaac Newton Academy in Ilford, London – Secondary School of the Year
Given that 62% of students at Isaac Newton Academy use English as an additional language (EAL), their
successes in thisfield to date are impressive: last year saw them placed in the top 1% for Year 11 progress!
The school partners with a speech and language specialist as well as a school counsellor. This isin addition
to having their own team of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) staff who monitor the
development of beginner EAL students.
Sharon Hague, Senior Vice President, Schools, Pearson, said: “Our warmest congratulations to the
winners, highly-commended, and commended finalists of the 2018 Shine a Light Awards. Through our
innovative clinical assessments, Pearson is committed to supporting those working to help people
overcome challenges in speech and language.
“For six years we have run these awards as we believe it is so important to recognise and celebrate the
incredible, but often unsung, work being done across the country to change the lives of children and
young people by helping them to develop their communication skills.”
Octavia Holland, Director of The Communication Trust, said: “Congratulations to everyone who
triumphed at the 2018 Shine a Light Awards. These awards highlight the very best practice that is taking
place in settings across the country. The winners and highly-commended finalists have shown what can
be achieved when expertise, enthusiasm and dedication are given to children and young people who
struggle to communicate. We would like to say a huge thank you to Pearson for their long-standing
support.”
In total, 17 awards were presented by Adam Hess following a process where a judging panel whittled
down the applications received. This panel included 19 key representatives from across the education and
special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) sectors, as well as previous Shine a Light Award winners.
Representatives included Jonathan Douglas, Director at National Literacy Trust; Kamini Gadhok MBC,
Chief Executive at RCSLT; Bob Reitemeier CBE, CEO of I CAN; Lesley Munro, Education and Speech and
Language Therapy Manager at Pearson Clinical; John Parrott, Chair of Communication Consortium at
NAPLIC and Victoria Roe, Secretary and Deputy Chair, SMIRA.
The Shine a Light Awards have grown in popularity since their launch during the National Year of
Communication in 2011 (known as the Hello campaign).
To date, the awards have celebrated the work
of over 140 teams and a wide range of individuals, including young people with severe and complex
SLCN.
In the UK, over one million children and young people have some form of long-term and persistent
speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) that can impact them early, severely and for life.
The awards highlight the incredible contributions of teams, settings and individuals across England who
support children and young people to achieve their full potential despite the challenges they face.
For further information about the Shine a Light winners and highly-commended finalists, visit
www.shinealightawards.co.uk
It was fantastic celebration of all that is good in the field of SLCN
