What to do to support children and young people with identified speech, language and communication needs

Balanced System for Schools and Settings

The Balanced System Scheme for Schools and Settings is a whole system approach to improving outcomes for children across the range of speech, language and communication needs for any setting that supports children. The framework enables a setting to understand existing need and provision for speech, language and communication and develop provision to address the gaps. The framework supports a setting to demonstrate impact of the support for speech, language and communication.

Cost: £

Stamma

The British Stammering Association, now known as Stamma since 2019, is a national organisation for children and young people who stammer and their families. It also provides information, advice and support for professionals working with children and young people who stammer.

Parent information, advice and resources - Worcestershire

The Worcestershire Speech and Language Therapy service website provides a comprehensive range of resources, advice and You Tube videos to help parents to support their child / young person at home. 

Visit the website to find:

• Information about speech, language and communication
• Free resources you can download and use at home
• Links to our You Tube channel where you will find demonstrations of activities you can do at home
• Further information about the local team, where we work and what services we provide 

Cost: Free

Speech and Language UK Information for Professionals

Speech and Language UK is the children's communication charity which provides training and resources for professionals to develop knowledge, skills and strategies to support children's speech, language and communication skills and needs and links to further information.

Cost: Free

Black Sheep Press resources

Black Sheep Press produce a wide variety of resources for professionals and speech and language therapists working with children with speech and language needs.  The resources have been devised by experts and include worksheets, assessments and apps.  Resources are colourfully illustrated and come with clear guidance on how to use them.  As well as assessment tools, the resources include activities to support speech sound development; attention and listening; vocabulary; word-finding; sentence structure; narrative structure and social skills. 

Cost: £

Afasic

Afasic supports parents and carers with young children who have difficulties with listening, talking and understanding others. Here is information for you use and to share with families of the children you support. It includes a wide range of information about talking, listening and understanding and what might cause these difficulties.  If families are worried that their young child is not talking or not saying as much as other children of their age, they can contact Afasic by telephone or email to speak to someone who can help. 

Cost: Free

What Works database

The Communication Trust worked with the Better Communication Research Programme to develop the What Works database of evidenced interventions to support children's speech, language and communication. What Works is endorsed by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.  It supports practitioners to deliver evidence-informed interventions and approaches to support children and young people with speech, language and communication needs.

Speech and Language UK Talk about Talk Secondary

Talk about Talk is an evidenced targeted intervention that helps students aged 14 to 18 with poor communication skills to be ready for the workplace. The programme consists of a series of 13 fully planned one-hour lessons delivered by trained teaching or support staff.

Cost: Free

BCTC Toolkit - Effective Communication

Blackpool Classrooms That Communicate is a curated collection of resources and advice that puts speech, language & communication at the heart of helping staff to help the children and young people they work with.  This includes a wide range of information and strategies for supporting understanding, talking and communication.  

Cost: Free

RADLD

Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) is diagnosed when children and young people struggle with language, resulting in children who have difficulty understanding what people say to them, and struggle to articulate their ideas and feelings.  This website provides you with information and resources to help identify and support children and young people with DLD.   Information can also be shared with families and carers of children and young people with DLD.

Cost: Free

Language for Behaviour and Emotions

This practical, interactive resource is designed to be used by professionals who work with children and young people who have Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs and Speech,Language and Communication needs.  Gaps in language and emotional skills can have a negative impact on behaviour as well as mental health and self- esteem. Language for Behaviour and Emotions provides a systematic approach to developing these skills so that young people can understand and work through social interaction difficulties.

Cost: £

Vocabulary Enrichment Intervention Programme

This book helps to enhance the understanding and use of vocabulary in secondary school students and young adults. Specifically designed for older children and young adults (8-18) with language and communication needs, this practical language programme was created by a specialist speech & language therapist with input from secondary school teachers and students.

Cost: £

Narrative Intervention Programme

This book improves the understanding and telling of stories in secondary school students and young adults. Specifically designed for older children and young adults, this practical language programme was created by a specialist speech & language therapist with input from secondary school teachers and students.

Cost: £

Talking Mats

Talking Mats communication symbols tool is based on extensive research and designed by Speech and Language Therapists. It uses unique, specially designed picture communication symbols that are attractive to all ages and communication abilities and is used by clinical practitioners, carers and support workers in a wide range of health, social work, residential and education settings to increase children, young people and adults' capacity to communicate effectively about things that matter to them. 

Lift Lessons 6-14

Digital resources with a focus on teaching keywords in science to empower students aged 6 to 14 with their academic language.

Word Aware

Word Aware is a structured whole school approach to promote the vocabulary development of all children. The resource is of particular value for those who start at a disadvantage – including children with Developmental Language Disorder, Special Educational Needs and those who speak English as an additional language, but it will extend the word learning of all students.  It includes activities that can be used in 1-1 or small groups for children who are finding word learning particularly difficult. 

Cost: £

Secondary Language Link

Secondary Language Link is a comprehensive SLCN support package.  This assessment, targeted interventions and teacher training package enables secondary schools to identify and support the language and communication needs of Key Stage 3 students aged 11-14

Cost: £

Strategies to support language disorders

Leaflet outlining key strategies to support language disorders in the classroom.

Cost: Free

Colourful Semantics

'Colourful Semantics' was developed by Alison Bryan and is used by SLTs across the UK and beyond, to support spoken and written language development across a wide range of client groups.

Colourful Semantics – a practical resource is a Mac / Windows-compatible CD-ROM which uses this theory and provides a wide range of practical games, advice sheets and illustrations, to support the use of ‘Colourful Semantics’ with preschool and primary children across the curriculum. 

The pictures are fun, the ideas are varied and the advice is practical. Resources can be printed off, copied and used for therapy by SLTs, Teachers and assistants to support expressive and receptive language targets. The disk is clear, easy to use and ready to go.

Cost: £

Language for Learning resources

Language for Learning aims to offer really practical strategies to support children in their early years or mainstream setting. They aim to share resources that they use and promote on our training courses, including national initiatives such as the Communication Commitment.