Teachers, are you worried about the phonics check?

Communicating Phonics is a brand new free publication from The Communication Trust aimed at Key Stage 1 teachers Communicating Phonics is a guide to support teachers delivering and interpreting the phonics screening test to children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). The guide will help
teachers to deliver the test this June, but also has lots of useful tips and advice to support the overall literacy development of children with SLCN.

Why you should read it?
The phonics checklist, also known as the phonics test or phonics screen, is being administered to Year 1 children from June 2012. The Department for Education has supplied universal guidance for administering the checklist and for interpreting and responding to the results. There are, however, implications for many children with special educational needs (SEN) and particularly those with SLCN.
The term ‘speech, language and communication needs’ (SLCN) is used to describe a wide range of issues that make it difficult for children to communicate with others.

SLCN is the most common SEN identified by primary schools (26.5%) and is a feature of many other areas of SEN, such as hearing impairment, learning difficulties and autistic spectrum difficulties. SLCN is also the most common childhood disability: 10% of all children have SLCN as a long term need. Evidence also shows that in areas of social deprivation 50% of children may enter school with delayed language. SLCN is often under‐identified. This guide, put together with the expertise of nearly 50 of specialist organsiations, will support teachers in
delivering the test but also in overall literacy development of children with SLCN.


How is the guide structured?
Communicating Phonics provides a general overview of issues and then detailed information on 14 different types of SLCN, with a particular focus on the phonics test. It also gives details on how to interpret the outcomes of the test and support the literacy development of children with SLCN.

We know how busy teachers are so the guide has been organised so that teachers can dip in to get to the information they need. This includes:
- General principles
- A quick reference table
- Detailed information on particular SLCN, and how they relate to the test
- Links to a glossary of terms and resources on speech, language and communication
Download the guide at www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/phonics 

Speech, language and communication: are they special needs?

The Communication Trust, a coalition of nearly 50 voluntary organisations specialising in speech, language and communication, has welcomed today’s SEN Progress and Next Steps report from the Department of Education.
The Trust welcomes the drive towards joined up approaches and efforts to ease the journey for children with SEN and their families but has concerns about the effect of these changes on the 1 million children and young people in the UK with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN).

Wendy Lee, Professional Director for The Communication Trust, says: “Over the last five years, there has been a 58% increase in the number of children and young people with SLCN as a special educational need. Identification and support is crucial but traditionally the UK has had low recognition and awareness of SLCN.
“Changes in labelling, particularly around the diagnosis of behavioural, social and emotional problems, will need to be managed carefully. Parents and the children’s workforce often notice and recognise poor literacy or poor behaviour but may not notice the SLCN difficulty underneath such as poor understanding, vocabulary or conversational skills. We need to work hard to ensure that the ‘hidden’ difficulties of children with SLCN are identified early across all phases of education.

“When SLCN is not addressed, problems can manifest over the years affecting the individual, their family and wider society. Figures show that more than half of children excluded from school have an unidentified SLCN and in our youth justice system, 60% have SLCN, which has previously been undetected.”

The Communication Trust is working closely with the Government on how to support and identify SLCN and is pleased with the strong emphasis on this in the early years and with the focus on workforce development. Specifically, the Trust has:

•  Managed and delivered in partnership with Jean Gross, formerly Communication Champion for children, the National Year of Communication (Hello campaign) to raise awareness of children and young people’s communication development and how to recognise and support SLCN
• Worked to support children’s communication charity I CAN to deliver the Early Language Development Programme (ELDP)
• Developed with support from City & Guilds, a new Level 3 Award in Supporting Children and Young People's Speech Language and Communication for practitioners working with children and young people aged 0‐19 across education, health, youth justice and social care. With support from the Department for Education, the Trust has developed free resources to support the early identification of SLCN
• Developed for the first time a mandatory unit on speech, language and communication that is included in initial training for early years practitioners as part of the Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People’s workforce www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/qualifications
• Released in partnership with Jean Gross, formerly Communication Champion and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT), Better Communication – outlining a range of approaches to commissioning around SLCN
•  Produced a booklet Let’s Talk about It aimed at increasing awareness of SLCN to teachers going through initial teacher training
• Recently launched a film aimed at raising awareness of recognising SLCN with youth justice and educators www.sentencetrouble.info/film

Wendy Lee continues: “As schools are given greater flexibility to determine their own policies and practices on SEN and the range of statutory information requirements are reduced, it is vital that schools are scrutinised by Ofsted and by Local Authorities on the services they provide, to ensure that the large numbers of children with mild and moderate SLCN are not overlooked. “The Trust is concerned that children with SEN risk getting left behind as the new NHS and schools architecture gets embedded. As personalised budgets come to the fore, parents will need extra support to ensure a joined up approach that meets their child’s needs across health, education and care.”

“As a coalition of nearly 50 voluntary organisations with expertise in speech, language and communication, we understand intrinsically the unique role that the voluntary sector plays. We are pleased this has been championed in the report and look forward to continuing to work with the Government to improve the lives of children, young people and their families.”

Video campaign to raise awareness of SLI

One child in every reception classroom is affected by a specific language impairment, a little recognised condition that affects all aspects of life, prompting a group of leading academics to come together and launch RALLI, a video led campaign to raise awareness. 


Specific language impairment (SLI) hinders understanding and expressive language and can impact on how children learn, form friendships and on educational development. Despite how common the condition is, it receives little recognition, with many children and their families missing out on accessing much needed help and support as a result.


To change this, academics Dorothy Bishop, Professor of Developmental Neuropsychology at Oxford University, Gina Conti-Ramsden, Professor of Child Language and Learning at the University of Manchester, Courtenay Norbury, Head of the Literacy, Language and Communication Laboratory at
Royal Holloway, University of London and Maggie Snowling, Professor of Psychology at the University of York, have joined forces to launch RALLI, Raising Awareness of Language Learning Impairments. Aimed at children, parents, families and education professionals, it will share video stories based on people’s experiences of SLI and what can be done to help those affected. RALLI has been launched with funding support from Afasic, The Waterloo Foundation and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).


Professor Dorothy Bishop commented: “Language impairments can have a dramatic impact on children. Research shows that two in five children who have the condition say they have difficulties interacting with peers and, children with SLI are twice as likely to be bullied. These issues do not stop as they grow older, in fact, teenagers with language impairment are two and half times more likely to
report symptoms of anxiety or depression. That’s why we had to take action and launch RALLI, to raise awareness of those who suffer.”


Becky Clark,RALLI editor and a speech and language therapist said: “Our ambition is to bring together the leading academics in the field, alongside children and families affected, to produce informed, relevant video that will shine a light on SLI and ultimately help many other children. The channel will become a place where people can come and get reliable information, but also comment
and discuss the issues. We’re really hoping to build a community as well as raising awareness.”


Professor Conti-Ramsden said: “Like all the members of RALLI, when I tell people about my work in SLI, most people have never heard of the condition; that’s why I got involved. It’s essential we raise awareness of SLI so that children and families can get an early diagnosis and get the help they need.”


Professor Snowling said: “Studies show that often children with dyslexia have an underlying language impairment. It is important to have greater recognition of the complexity of the problems associated
with SLI and support for the professionals helping those affected.”
Dr Courtenay Norbury commented: “I would love everyone who watches the RALLI videos to consider how important language is. Imagine if you were not able to understand or express yourself in the way everyone else could and the impact this would have across the whole of your day. So, watch RALLI, then if you like it, pass it on to six of your friends and family. We hope it will change people’s
knowledge of SLI for good.”


To find out more about SLI and to watch the launch videos, please go to RALLI’s YouTube page: http://www.youtube.com/rallicampaign

Verbal reasoning....... how do we measure it?

The development of Verbal reasoning skills has fascinated me for a long, long time but I haven't found anything apart from Maggie Johnson's Canterbury and Thanet Scales  that I could really use to show the process or really explain the development to school staff.

I am working with a particular little boy, Peter aged 4years 11 months. who just can't understand language which is anything but concrete and in the 'here and now'. It hasn't been too big a problem until now he's in the third term in reception. He knows he should say something but when its his turn to answer a question he will just say anything that pops into his head. This is of course causing much hilarity among his peers and mixed reactions from staff. Is he doing it deliberatley, is he trying to wind them up? They really don't know how  they should be responding. The NHS SLT and I had been working on 'Why-because' activities especially those from Black Sheep press.

Last week, I was delighted to discover the Test of Abstract Language by Elks and McLachlan and used it yesterday to identify where Peter's specific difficulties lie.

There are 4 levels as identified by Blank, Rose and Berlin in 1978.

1.    Matching perception e.g. where's the lorry? Find me the train

2.    Selective analysis of perception e.g. finding object by function which on flies, putting pictures of related objects together, recall info from a statement Such as who, what, where,

3.    Level 3 following direction e.g. do this, planning and giving directions, formulate a story which links pictures, describe events and predict, assume the role of another e.g. what could he say, identify similarities, differences

4.    Level 4 requires abstract verbal problem solving e.g. why, inference, cause, explain why something can't happen

On the assessment Peter. struggled with some level 2 i.e. recalling who, what, where from a story.

For level 3 he could not formulate a story from pictures, describe and predict. Therefore he is between level 2 and 3. The ‘why because’ comes in level 4

Therefore, we need to rethink what we're doing and take it to the right level for him.

One of the things that occurred to me while I was reading the work by Blanc is that when something goes wrong especially bad behaviour in nursery and reception, we always ask children, ‘tell me what happened’ and ‘why did you do that’. These are both concepts beyond many young children especially when they're anxious. At this time their understanding will be blocked further (weakest link phenomenon).

We’d already been looking at what goes together and what doesn’t belong so we can keep doing that. We need to do more stories with questions and putting pictures into sequences/talking about them. I’ve got some lovely things on a narrative programme (Black Sheep press) that I will take into school and leave for them too.

See:http://www.elklan.co.uk/ for accredited courses we can deliver from Small Talk and  http://www.blacksheeppress.co.uk/

www.private-speech-therapy.co.uk

Help pre-schoolers' communication skills... urgent action required!!

Middle-class children hear 33 million words by the time they start school - 23 million more than poorer children of the same age, a Government adviser has revealed.

According to Frank Field, the Governments advisor on poverty, collapse in parenting skills in poor homes with unstable families blights a child's prospects by the time they are three-years-old.

In a report on child deprivation, he said that wealthier children from stable homes will have heard 440,000 more positive comments from their parents than children from dysfunctional families by the age of three. As speech & language therapists know, the level of communication between a parent and child has a more drastic impact on a child's future than any other factor including class, race or income.  The findings are only set to continue for future generations if action is not taken as young people brought up  in dysfunctional families have no experience of being a good parent when it comes to raising their own children.

Mr Field aims to 'break into this cycle of deprivation so the whole thing is not automatically handed on the next generation'. He is calling for a 'parenting curriculum' at schools where pupils will learn about child care as well as a formal 'rites of passage' ceremonies attended by local mayors for children not christened. 

Some of the latest research is very damning as it shows that youngsters who were behind when they started school never caught up to their peers. He blamed the situation on the low aspirations of parents trapped in poverty where no one in the family has worked for generations. These parents do not bother to play with, talk to or read to their children. Mr Field’s study warned that children’s life chances were almost entirely determined before they even got to school.

His report called for health visitors to measure children’s behaviour and communication skills from the age of two to catch youngsters who were falling behind in their development.

The reason I started Smart talkers Pre-School groups was an attempt to address some of these issues see www.smarttalkers.org.uk


What do you think? I'd love to hear your comments.

Farewell to Communication Trust Director

 Anita Kerwin-Nye, Director of The Communication Trust, a coalition of nearly 50 voluntary and community based organisations specialising in speech, language and communication, has announced that she is to step down after five years in post.


Kerwin-Nye originally founded The Communication Trust in 2007 alongside BT, I CAN, Council for Disabled Children and Afasic to support the development and training of the children’s workforce and
to influence policy. Five years on, and the Trust has:
• Grown from 8 to 48 consortium members and been cited by The Cabinet Office as an exemplar model of collaboration and coalition.
• Extended the reach of the Trust by training over 3,000 people in the early years, schools and youth justice workforce on how to support children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN).
• Impacted heavily on policy including successful influencing of speech, language and communication in the early years agenda.
• Developed, in partnership with City and Guilds, a new mandatory Level 3 Award in supporting children and young people’s speech, language and communication.
• Delivered the Hello campaign (national year of communication) in partnership with Jean Gross CBE, formerly Communication Champion for children. 200 Local Co-ordinators supported Hello,
320,000 free resources were disseminated to families and the children’s workforce and it is estimated that 72% of UK adults were reached by Hello media coverage (Metrika analysis).


In her previous role as Director of Communications for I CAN, Anita developed the Make Chatter Matter campaign. This seminal campaign helped lobby for the Bercow Review into Services for Children and
Young People (0-19) with Speech, Language and Communication Needs calling for a Communication Champion and awareness raising campaign to make communication everyone’s business. Anita Kerwin-Nye says: “I am remarkably proud of The Communication Trust and how far we have come in five years. As a collective of voluntary organisations, we have striven to improve services and
awareness for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). “When I first joined the speech and language sector, there was very little general awareness that
communication skills were a vital commodity for individuals, families and society as a whole. It was hidden that 1 million children have some form of SLCN that can affect them early, severely and for life.
The children’s workforce felt under confident in this area and parents were battling a system where their child’s needs were falling between the stools of health and education. “To put SLCN on the map, we have had to emerge the vital importance of all children and young
people’s communication development. Early identification of children’s needs is only possible when there is recognition amongst the workforce and parents about what typical communication development looks like. We still have a long way to go but things have improved and the voluntary sector has acted as one of the biggest catalysts for change.
Kerwin-Nye continues: “By developing a coalition of 48 voluntary organisations, The Communication Trust speaks as one voice on speech and language issues whilst supporting individual members’ work
streams. There is so much credibility and expertise held within the Trust and the focus over the next six months will be on showcasing what works to support children’s communication and SLCN and
disseminating it to the widest possible audience.


“As we put the finishing touches to The Communication Trust’s Impact Report outlining the difference we have made in five years, it feels the right time to move on. A strong strategy has been put in place
for the next five years and I know I am leaving it in the very capable hands of the Trust’s staff team. Norbert Lieckfeldt, Chief Executive of The British Stammering Association, says: “It is unusual to have a
coalition of this kind. In a time when organisational mergers and cost efficiency drives are coming into force, The Communication Trust is a model of how it can be done. Anita’s leadership and her ability to
bring organisations together to work towards a common goal, whilst supporting their individual strategies, have been remarkable. She will be sorely missed but her legacy is leaving the Trust and its
members in a strong position and with a clear direction for future work.”


Kerwin-Nye will be succeeded from May 1st in the interim by Cara Evans, Operations Director, who will work closely with Adrian Hosford, Chair of The Communication Trust, on implementing the Trust’s next
five year plan. The Trust will be building on the legacy of the Hello campaign by launching a campaign in the near future to place communication at the heart of schools’ policy and practice.

How to develop language through small world play and stories

There are lots of ideas for nursery staff to use but there aren't many places which actually says 'how' to do it. It's very refreshing, however, to find someone who tells exactly what needs doing to achieve goals. Micheal Jones, an excellent source of information on all things language and ommunication does exactly this. He has a wealth of practical suggestions on his website and training courses. I was looking at ideas for activities for a group of children who need are beginning to use small world play but are too reliant on the adult's input into this. They also love stories. This is what Micheal says:

Young children, and especially those aged 2 to 3 years, are beginning to use language to express ideas, as well as meet their needs. They are also beginning to learn a lot from each other. They show more involvement if there is a balance between child initiated and adult led/supported/supervised activities.One of the ways that adults can support expression of ideas is through sharing books, and particularly simple stories. But how to sustain children’s interest, and especially when working with a small group, in a ‘free-flow’
environment, without making the activity too structured and adult led?
One way is to introduce toys that feature in a story, before sharing the story. For example, you have planned to share a story about farm animals. You will need a bag full of soft farm animal toys or puppets, a bag of small plastic farm animals, a large cloth, and your story book. NB. This activity works best if two adults are involved. If you do it on your own, you will find that most of your language will be ‘managing language’ rather than interaction. If you know that children learning English as a second language will be involved, it will be helpful to find out how to say some of the key words in the story in their home language. (You can find this out from parents or other practitioners). Encourage the children to take the soft toys out of the bag one at a time, and talk about what they have found, what noises they make, etc. This is the adult led
part. Let the children play with the toys, and talk to each other. This is the adult  supervised part. Then take over again, by asking the children to sit in a circle and close their eyes. Hide the toys under a large cloth. When the children open their eyes they can take turns to feel under the cloth, and take out an animal of their choice. Talk about what they have found. Let the children play with the toys again. Now put the soft toys to one side and introduce the bag of small plastic farm animals. Let the children take them out one by one, play with them, hide them under the cloth and play with them again.

By this time some children may want to move away, but some may want to look at the pictures in the storybook, and others will want to share the whole story. If you are telling the story, it helps to let children know that you expect them to stay and join in with the whole story. It helps to keep the story very brief, perhaps just commenting on the pictures. Individual children may want to stay and share the whole story. Try following up a session like this with an activity in the creative area; e.g. making a farm using plasticene, play dough, colouring with large felt pens etc.

Michael Jones is an Early Language Consultant  For more of his excellent ideas see: http://www.talkformeaning.co.uk/