Better Communication - Shaping speech, language and communication services in the light of outcomes from the Bercow Review

To mark the national year of communication, the Communication Champion and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) are hosting three autumn conferences for NHS and local authority commissioners, together with their local speech and language therapy service provider or providers.

These conferences aim to draw together learning from the three-year period of action following the Bercow Review, which set out to improve the situation for children and families - the  pathfinder programme to develop new speech, language and communication needs-specific commissioning tools; a major research programme to enhance the evidence base and inform delivery of better outcomes for children; a workforce development strand; and the national year of communication itself. The conferences will provide commissioners and service managers with the information they need to ensure high-quality, cost-effective services for the future.

The conferences will take place on:

• Tuesday 20th September 2011 at Aspire, 2 Infirmary Street, Leeds, LS1 2JP

• Tuesday 11th October 2011 at the Royal National Hotel, Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0DG

• Thursday 24th November 2011 at the University of Warwick, Rootes Social Building, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, CV4 7A

For more information and to book a place, please contact:digna.bankovska@rcslt.org

Are you looking for a way to earn money, make a difference AND have fun?

There can't be many ways of combining all three plus achieving a work-life balance. Smart Talkers Pre-School Groups are looking for franchisees to run their own business in their own area. We have a training course in starting in September which can be done mostly on-line as we know you are probably busy with children and partners etc.

We run groups which focus on spoken language skills to help children achieve their potential. We do Small Talkers to help prepare for school, Teeny Talkers for 2- 3 year olds, Baby Talk for parents of babies (or ante-natal classes) plus we do signing for babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers. We also show you how to do other courses such as Stories with Jack and to deliver other related programmes. There is a variety which means you are never bored!

We aren't looking for qualifications (although speech and language therapists might be interested) as we offer full training on communication development, ways to encourage, how to manage groups etc as well as business training. We also support the business development so it's an easier way of starting and running your own  business. We know that it's a scary thought and that could put you off but I have had years of running businesses; experience which will help you.

Have a look at the video or listen to the podcast to see if you might be interested, As a bonus we're offering a discount on the franchise fee to celebrate 2011, the National year of Communication.





See the web site http://www.smarttalkers.org.uk/business_opportunity.php There is a video and another podcast

Do you want to do what's best for your child?

Did you hear the Communication Tsar Jean Gross talking about children' s low levels of speech, language and communication on Radio 4 today? This area is the most important area of a child's development and underpins most of the others.  We have children who have a specific difficulty through no-one's fault (1.2 million) but many, many more who have deprived language so they may not even know their own name or that they even have a name by the time they come to nursery. Addressing this issue is 'the Holy Grail of breaking the problems today,' asserts Neil Wilson, Head Teacher from Manchester.This is so true and one of the reasons why I started the Smart Talkers pre-School Communication Groups www.smarttalkers.org.uk.

All parents want what's best for their children but the problem is, they don't know enough about the development of communication and their essential role in that process. We need desperately to address this, which is exactly what the Hello Campaign is attempting to do. Unfortunately it's a massive task and one which needs to be regular, consistent and ongoing. Smart Talkers have several strategies in our support of this aim:

•  Baby Talk to discuss the important relevant issues with parents or parents-to-be e.g. how old should the baby be before we need to talk to them?, TV, forwards facing pushchairs, nursery ryhmes etc. The Smart Talkers representative leads the discussion with all the up to date information, she doesn't tell them what to think but by the end they have all the ideas to make their own minds up
• Teeny Talkers which are groups for 2 - 3 year olds
• Small Talkers which are groups to help prepare 3-4 year olds for school
• Other signing groups, story-times, demonstration training all designed to work on speech, language and communication

While we do offer more formal training to parents, carers and staff, I feel that the groups of parents who really need this information are not likely to sit down to learn in these traditional ways. I find that informal, low-key demonstration is much more valuable. We're not telling them what to do, as again that can be detrimental, we're showing  and suggesting. In any event, they are not threatened by a woman sitting on the floor singing with her hand in a puppet, so they are more relaxed and open to suggestion! The first session I did at a Children's Centre was a great example: the parents had been told to come along by their social workers. They knew that it was to be a  speech therapist running the groups and that their children all had delayed language. They came along full of resentment; the hostility almost palpable!! At the end of the first session, the folded arms had relaxed a little and they agreed somewhat reluctantly to attend the following week of their own accord. By week 3, I still had the originals apart from one family and some parents who were trying the activities, by week 6 they were all doing the activities and singing the songs at home!! 

In case you missed it: http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9550000/9550285.stm www.smarttalkers.org.uk

End of an era: Small Talkers on their way!

It was with some sadness but a real feeling of satisfaction, that we said goodbye to our Small Talkers from the Smart Talkers Pre-School Communication groups. These are the children who have been attending our classes and are now on their way to school. It's been fantastic to work with these children and we have had some real successes. I thought I might share a small selection of some of the children's stories with you:

P

P came from another nursery which he had been asked to leave because of his poor behaviour. He came to the group with very poor attention and listening skills. He had no idea of turn-taking and talked over both staff and children. Consequently his receptive language was poor as he could not listen. He had developed diversion tactics to hide this. Now he is able to sit and attend in the group for the entire session. He knows exactly when it is his turn and is able to carry out all the activities. He can carry out tasks with 3 information carrying words so still has a little way to go (need 4 in correct sequence for school) but is doing very well. He enjoys the praise that comes with success and seeks this now rather than the attention associated with his poor behaviour. He needs work on verbal reasoning as he is very literal and narrative.

E

E had very little self confidence so that her performance at nursery was affected. Her understanding and expressive skills were poor because of this. We have worked on her confidence and have built this up; she can now put up her hand to answer most questions. We still need to make sure she has the correct set up i.e. she hates to go first and will then often clam up.

A

A had a marked processing delay which affected all his communication i.e. if you asked him a question, he would take a few seconds to take in what you had asked him before answering. He was also very easily disturbed so that he would withdraw and not give anything. It was often not apparent what was bothering him. He has made great progress so that he can answer most concrete her and now questions. He still has immature speech sounds.

W

W’s parents and older sister were babying her so that she got everything she wanted without the need to talk. We’ve looked at reasons, means and opportunities and demonstrated in the group how to simply implement these. She was just using eye-pointing as a means of communication whereas now she is talking in sentences now and is very vocal!

P

P had no expressive language. He used a system of grunts to get what he wanted. At first it looked as if it was just a lack of parental technique bur as he has made progress it is becoming apparent that there is probably more to the problem. If we hadn’t had the group this would not have been evident for much longer. We were able to alert the multi-disciplinary team. He has now seen the paediatrician and will have some assessment sessions.

We've had some great feedback from the parents and carers.... and we've had great fun!

Hello to the national year of communication:Podcast

Listen to an interview with the Government's Communication Tsar Jean Gross:
http://www.radioinschools.co.uk/data/Assets/RIS/Player/316766d996162291f2c0781b6b2861138f675ca8.mp3

Read more about the campaign at www.hello.org.uk

Testing Time for Toddlers

Toddlers in England will be assessed to find out whether they can use basic words, respond to familiar sounds, communicate their needs and play with friends.

A Government overhaul of pre-school education  announced recently will propose giving all parents a written summary of their children’s abilities in key areas between the age of two and three. Ministers claim the test will identify early developmental problems and diagnose special needs at a young age. It comes amid fears that too many children are currently starting school at the age of four or five without the skills needed to make a success of compulsory education. Almost half lack basic social and language skills, figures show.

But Richard House, senior lecturer in psychotherapy at Roehampton University, said the move risked branding children as "failures" at a young age.

"Children are so diverse that to even begin constructing some generalised view of how they should be developing at a certain age is fraught with danger," he said.

A review of Labour’s compulsory “nappy curriculum” published earlier this year found that the existing system of pre-school education in England promoted a tick-box culture that stifled children’s early development.

Dame Clare Tickell, chief executive of the charity Action for Children, said the so-called Early Years Foundation Stage – introduced in 2008 – was “cumbersome, repetitive and unnecessarily bureucractic”.

She recommended dramatically cutting back in the number of targets youngsters are supposed to meet by their fifth birthday and making a clearer identification of problems at a much earlier stage.

Outlining a revised early years strategy today, the Government is set to accept many of her key recommendations.

The updated framework, which is being put out to consultation, will slash the number of targets all children are supposed to hit by the age of five – from the existing 69 to just 17.

It will also set out plans for a compulsory assessment of all children aged between two and three covering personal, social and emotional development, physical development and communication and language.

Ministers insist the exact nature of the checks should be down to individual nurseries and childminders.

But a draft framework suggests that assessments should focus on whether children are beginning to independently care for themselves, including “pulling off their socks or shoes or getting a tissue when necessary”.

Children should understand “'who', 'what' [and] 'where' in simple questions”, listen with interest when adults read stories and be aware that some actions can hurt or harm others, it says.

Staff should also check that children can play nicely with friends and be aware that “some actions can hurt or harm others”.

Ministers will say that the development checks should sit alongside health visitor checks which are carried out at the age of two.

Sarah Teather, the Liberal Democrat Children’s Minister, said: "The importance of the early years – as a foundation for life and for future attainment and success – cannot be over estimated. That’s why it’s vital we have the right framework to support high quality early years education.”

The Teeny Talker and Small Talker sessions by Smart Talkers Pre-school Communication Groups are designed especially to help develop children's language and communication skills. they work on everything the child needs using games, puppets, stories and songs. the groups were especially designed to help address the current needs of children. I welcome the introduction of earlier identification because we have shown that early help can mean that children start school with adequate language levels and the ability to attend and listen.

Related articles

• Learning check for nursery tots (mirror.co.uk)
• Two-year-olds 'to be given compulsory education checks' (telegraph.co.uk)

Baby Signing Expert

We are delighted to be associated with a brand new site all about signing. Read my thoughts about its positive contribution to the parent-child interaction . Baby Signing Expert is a not-for-profit site providing free resources and information about baby signing for parents, professionals and care settings in the UK. Baby signing is an increasingly popular activity that you can do with your baby. Its not hard to see why – the proven benefits of being able to communicate with your baby as their speech develops range from better bonding to accelerated language acquisition. Baby Signing Expert is a collaboration between Speech and Language Therapists, British Sign Language and Makaton qualified signing teachers, ICAN trained professionals as well as input from Early Years BSL author Cath Smith.  Supporting your child’s communication development, we’ve got the experience and professional knowledge to gently guide you to success. Our Goals 1. To provide clear guidelines to enable parents to choose a quality baby signing class 2. To promote best practice, consistency and high standards within the baby signing industry 3. To point carers to classes that can offer an inclusive service, if they or their children are Deaf/ hard of hearing or have delay in speech/ language/communication 4. To provide an accurate, informative and ethical point of reference for parents, child care settings and children’s services. 5. To promote British Sign Language and Deaf Awareness Please 'like' on FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/BabySigningExpert info@babysigningexpert.org.uk http://www.babysigningexpert.org.uk

Related articles

• Teaching Your Baby Sign Language (nateo10.wordpress.com)
• http://www.articlesbase.com/childhood-education-articles/should-i-sign-with-my-baby-or-not-4104728.html