The document discusses the rising concern about children's speech and language communication needs, highlighting various educational initiatives to improve vocabulary and interaction in schools. It emphasizes the importance of early intervention and the use of visual prompts to enhance communication skills and reduce behavioral issues. Schools are collaborating with specialists to create supportive environments, benefiting children's academic performances and overall behavior.

1. TALK LISTEN
TAKEPART
Better learning, better behaviour,
better communication
TES

2. 2
A primary school in Kidderminster
is using visual prompts to increase
interaction and help pupils communicate
Believe in
the reach
of speech
Hello, I’m Jean Gross,
the Communication
Champion for children.
I regularly meet
headteachers and
teachers who are
concerned about the
number of children and young people with
limited vocabularies, difficulties expressing
themselves and who struggle to listen and
understand language.
Recent Government statistics show there
has been a 58 per cent rise over the past five
years in the number of children identified by
their teachers as having special needs in this
area. This TES supplement showcases the
superb work taking place around the country
to tackle the problem. It gives examples of the
support available from The Communication
Trust through the Hello campaign – 2011
national year of communication.
Vocabulary at age five is a strong predictor
of how many GCSEs a child will later achieve,
and the best predictor of whether those who
experience social deprivation in childhood
are able to escape poverty as adults. Good Visual aids play a major role, from timetables to painstakingly prepared lessons.
The card cues
communication skills are increasingly
necessary in a service-driven economy, yet 47
per cent of UK employers say they cannot get
recruits with the oral language skills needed.
Links between behaviour problems and
poor language are strong. Two-thirds of those
at risk of exclusion from school have speech,
language and communication difficulties, as
do 60 per cent of young offenders – in only 5 Matthew’s “board” shows he needs a pencil “We noticed about three years ago that
per cent of cases was this known before they and ruler for today’s maths lesson. Having pupils were increasingly arriving at school
entered the criminal justice system. this on his desk in front of him reminds him with little vocabulary, even for words you
It is really important that we do focus on of his task and helps to keep him focused. would expect them to know such as ‘cow’ or
improving all children’s oral language skills, Visual images are part and parcel of ‘horse’,” says Kathryn Sugars, headteacher
and getting the right help for those who speech and language learning at Foley Park at the Worcestershire school. “Families
struggle. As many recent national Ofsted Primary School in Kidderminster (above). are not interacting at home in the way we
reports have noted, outstanding schools are Every child, regardless of any special need, might expect.”
those in which speaking and listening is high benefits from a whole-school system of Foley Park had already been working with
priority – like the schools featured here. prompts, pictures and even sign language. Worcestershire’s speech and language team,
Follow this timeline By age five, children should be able to:
of what to expect Ask, understand and Use speech that is easy to Join phrases with words Describe events but not
at different ages to answer “what”, “where”, understand, although it such as “if”, “because”, always joined together or
help you recognise “when” and “what could may still have immaturi- “so” and “could”. in the right order.
good progress and we do next” questions. ties.
potential problems.

3. 3
Supplement editor: Fiona Salvage All editorial content commissioned by
Produced by TSL Education Ltd to a brief TSL Education Ltd.
agreed with the Communication Champion To give us your feedback or to suggest ideas,
and The Communication Trust. contact fiona.salvage@tsleducation.com
Paid for by the Communication Champion For sponsorship or advertising opportunities,
and BT. contact duncan.kirk@tsleducation.com
staff carries a belt-clip containing visual cue Three years ago, the school reviewed its
cards with instructions and praise, such as teaching after it emerged that working with
“good listening” and “good sitting”, which act many different speech therapists created a
as a prompt and are used to communicate lack of consistency in provision, says Claire
with pupils. Bradley, the assistant headteacher.
Classrooms all have a visual timetable of “We were working with different therapists
that day’s activities, and individual task and getting mixed responses about what
management boards – such as the one used we needed to do with these pupils. Now all
by Matthew – set out in pictures and words the pupils are seen by the same person, who
what is expected in class. has trained our school staff to deliver the
“The system was painstaking to set up, same provision.”
requiring hundreds of laminated cards with Watercliffe’s speech and language
photographs of children, pictures and programme was devised through the eyes
prompts,” Ms Sugars says. “But it works. of the children, says Ian Read, the deputy
Visual timetables mean no surprises during headteacher. “We looked at what a pupil’s
the day for pupils who might be unsettled by day looks like and there is a lot of playtime
changes to their routine.” Governors made when the children interact socially.
£10,000 available to help pay for staff and “Just as the teacher would structure
developing resources. conversation and debate in the classroom,
The visual prompts have been we have a team of ‘play leaders’, mainly TAs,
accompanied by the “10-second rule”, which who initiate games in the playground that
gives pupils time to listen to, digest and react encourage children to talk and interact.”
to questions from teachers, rather than The dining room has also been designed as
becoming stressed by not being able to a cafe, where children can sit in small groups
answer immediately. “Often when a child and chat to each other.
doesn’t answer quickly, the teacher In the classroom, questions are more
rephrases the question, when what the pupil open-ended to discourage one-word answers.
actually needs is more time to think about the Teachers lead discussions that allow pupils
answer,” Ms Sugars adds. to express themselves, offer an opinion and
Linda Davis, Foley Park’s Senco, runs take part in discussion. Circle time is also
the “nurture room” for children who need used to promote conversation.
constant support with language development. Parents are an important part of the
RICHARD LEA-HAIR
Here, visual prompts are supplemented with process. “We organise workshops for parents
sign language for pupils who have difficulty and call these ‘food for thought’,” Ms Bradley
communicating and understanding. says. “They are based on discussions raised
“The benefit of visual prompts is that the in the book Toxic Childhood by Sue Palmer
teacher and pupil have to engage with each and centre on issues such as healthy eating.
which was increasingly struggling to cope other,” she says. “No one can just sit quietly “We talk about the importance of play at
with the level of intervention required. at the back hoping not to be noticed. It also home, not just on the computer, but how they
“They were only able to see about 20 of our helps to stop them being distracted. The can interact with their children in a fun way.”
pupils a year, which simply wasn’t enough. So project has had a huge impact and it is lovely The first workshop is called ‘It’s good to talk’
when we suggested we work with them, they to see the children’s confidence increasing.” and includes the experience of trying to talk
jumped at the chance,” Ms Sugars adds. It is too early to attribute the programme with a spoon in your mouth, to bring across
The team trained staff at the primary on to any improvement in key stage 2 results, the message about the use of dummies.
procedures for early diagnosis of speech and which can be affected by cohorts. But Ms From September, Watercliffe will introduce
language problems and other interventions. Sugars says: “The impact in terms of a family-based project exploring 101 things
A scheme called Language Link allows staff behaviour has been tremendous and has parents should do with their children before
to assess every child entering the school for eliminated a lot of the low-level disruption they leave the school, to encourage good
the first time, to put in place appropriate that can make teaching and learning difficult. relationships and communication.
programmes. Those who require very Attendance has also improved and exceeds Mr Read says: “We don’t think we have
specialist support are still referred to the the school’s target of 94.6 per cent.” cracked it yet, but speaking and listening
speech and language therapy team but the At Watercliffe Meadow Community has improved and we have gone some way
school’s own staff can now help most pupils. Primary in Sheffield, only two pupils arrived towards improving the communication skills
The Communication Project is now at the school last year with the appropriate of our pupils.”
embedded in the school. Every member of level of speech and language proficiency. Dorothy Lepkowska
By age seven, children should be able to:
Show good understanding Know key points to focus Ask questions to find Tell a story with key ordered sequence
of sounds and words on to answer a question out specific information, components in place of events.
important for reading or follow an instruction including “how” and – setting the scene,
and spelling. and begin to ignore less “why”. a basic plot and
important information. reasonably well-

4. 4
Schools can make a big difference to attainment
levels with relatively subtle changes, such as
giving pupils more time to reflect on questions
or focusing on listening skills
Gift of
the gab
When staff at the Spinney Centre carried out
an audit of pupils’ communication skills, it
came as no surprise to find that almost two-
GETTY
thirds had some speech or language need.
The centre is part of, though physically
separate from, Woodfield Special School in pairs tasks, rather than discussing these them- strategies themselves, allowing staff to tailor
Coventry, and serves around 30 boys aged selves with classmates. “Many of the boys have provision to the needs of children directly in
14-16 with complex emotional, behaviour and low self-esteem and fragile confidence and rely the classroom.
social difficulties, who have failed to succeed on others to speak for them. Overall they had Janette Goss, the school’s Senco, says: “Staff
or fit into mainstream education. very little verbal independence in lessons and are now self-sufficient and able to implement
“The audit looked in detail at their special this needed to change,” Ms Tindale adds. strategies, while continuing to use the speech
needs statements, issues such as dyslexia and Ms McKinnon noticed the tendency for staff and language therapists in an advisory role.”
autism, but particularly their language and to ask “closed” questions that left no room for Pupils with communication needs are identi-
communication skills,” says Annie Tindale, students to elaborate. “There was not enough fied in Years 7 and 8, usually based on reports
the centre’s headteacher. thinking through and developing ideas, so we from primary school. Talking and listening
“We found that around 62 per cent of boys asked staff to increase the amount of time giv- have become part of the ethos of the school –
had some communication need. Many had en to students for processing information to 10 staff are encouraged to take time to talk to
previously been offered speech therapy but seconds,” she says. “Staff were quite nervous pupils, and nurture groups have been set up
they hadn’t attended and had consequently about this but it didn’t faze the boys at all.” to support those who need it most.
dropped off the list. It is hard to assess young One breakthrough came when an exception- For older students, the school offers a BTEC
people who don’t want to be tested.” ally quiet teenager paused for a whole minute in Workskills which includes units in aspects
With the help of Sandi McKinnon, Coventry’s before answering a question, but got it correct. such as interview preparation and team work.
lead speech and language consultant, and It dawned on staff that the strategy was work- An emphasis on listening in the school
I CAN’s national Secondary Talk programme, ing and was encouraging the boys to speak, means that pupils and staff are aware of exact-
staff at the centre were trained to focus more and to think more for themselves. ly what is expected of them. “Active listening
on speech and language. “We also do a lot of work with them on the reminds everyone that they need to listen and
“We had to make staff aware of each pupil’s language of emotion to help them articulate understand each other,” Ms Goss adds.
difficulty and give them the tools to deal with what they’re feeling,” Ms Tindale adds. “It also reminds them that they need to
these,” Ms McKinnon says. “But they also had “Students often lash out but don’t always process what is said and to make eye contact
to realise that not every strategy was going to mean what they say. because that means you are engaging with that
work with every child.” “A student refusing to do a lesson because person. If the pupil is engaged with the teacher
The first exercises included lesson observa- it’s ‘rubbish’ probably means he’s stuck or it’s it means they are not doing something they
tions. “We looked at the amount of time teach- going beyond his pace. The students definitely shouldn’t be.
ers spent talking and found that there was too feel more listened to in lessons now and it has “We have only a small number of children
much,” Ms Tindale says. “Staff believed that slowed down the pace of learning. Talking is with these difficulties but actually we have
talking to the boys kept them engaged but embedded in the whole fibre of the place.” found everyone benefits from developing their
actually it was more about controlling their At Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School in communication skills.”
behaviour. There was a fear of what might hap- London, a focus on listening has improved Dorothy Lepkowska
pen if they let the students talk because these communication skills across the school. Seven
aren’t the kind of kids who come in on a Mon- years ago the school launched a project called Useful links
day and ask if you’ve had a good weekend.” Listen’Ear, for which it received help from a l I CAN
An effect of this was that students also speech and language therapist. Since then, www.ican.org.uk/Secondary Talk
looked to staff to negotiate their group and staff have been trained to deliver many of the
By age 9, children should be able to:
Infer meaning, reason and Use a range of words Use a whole range of Understand the interests Use language for
predict. related to time and regular and unusual word of the listener. a range of different
measurement. endings, with few errors reasons, eg complimenting
being made. or criticising, clarifying
and negotiating.

5. 5
A language-rich environment is vital to ensure all
children develop confidence and communication skills,
and there is a range of targeted interventions schools can
employ to identify and support pupils who are behind
Catching up
Liam is just five. He lives in a boisterous home were making progress of around 18 months figure is down to just over 20 per cent.”
where everyone shouts over the noise of the TV after the 10-week programme. It also enables In secondary school, speaking and listening
and the baby crying. His mum works part-time staff to identify those children who may need can be even more challenging. Children need
and has enough to do sorting out clothes and more specialist intervention. higher level language skills to meet the
food without engaging in long conversations. Staff in the schools involved have comment- demands of different subjects, and adolescents
“Downstairs – quick” and “Got your coat?” are ed positively, not just on changes in children’s with communication needs may be wrongly
the sort of unstructured sentences Liam hears language, but on their confidence and their identified as having behavioural difficulties.
every day, and his literacy is suffering. readiness to learn and engage in activities Enhancing Language and Communication
Jane Maloney, headteacher at Millbrook with their peers. in Secondary Schools (ELCISS) is being used
Community Primary School in Knowsley, knows At St Mark’s CofE Aided Primary School in in Beal High School, Redbridge. TAs run a
many children like Liam. She has found that Stoke-on-Trent, inclusion leader Ann Stone 12-week programme for groups of four to six
some four- and five-year-olds in her school only found a significant proportion of the 112 chil- children focusing on vocabulary and narrative.
have the language development of the average dren on the special needs register had difficul- The aim is to boost language skills with a
three-year-old. So her staff are using a pro- ties with speech, language and communication. cross-curricular approach. One child who
gramme called A Chance to Talk, run by The The school has worked hard on communica- entered the school with a reading age of eight
Communication Trust, I CAN and the Every tion projects this year and where once staff left KS3 with level 5 and is predicted to achieve
Child a Chance Trust, to help pupils to catch used question and answer techniques, they are B and C grades in his GCSEs.
up. The programme supports speaking and now as likely to get a child to talk to a partner. Young people need to work on social commu-
listening in the classroom and through targeted One of the most successful projects has been nication too. The inclusion advisory teaching
interventions. Staff receive training to help Spirals, a circle-time activity where children service in Bolton provides training on the local-
identify children and to run a 10-week learn to make eye contact, smile, and greet ly developed Secondary Talk programme. The
programme of small-group work to improve others. One girl with very little confidence original focus was behaviour and general
language and communication skills. amazed her parents and teachers by acting in emotional well-being, but it has also made a
A trained teaching assistant (TA) runs a class assembly in front of the whole school difference for children learning English as an
withdrawal sessions for groups of four children and speaking audibly and clearly. additional language and pupils who have state-
with delayed language, with link activities back “The results have been excellent,” says Ms ments for speech and language difficulties.
to the classroom, designed to support the chil- Stone. “When I looked at our current Year 6, 48 Turton High School Media Arts College has run
dren who are struggling and which can benefit per cent had been on the special needs register the 10-week course where pupils work on id-
all children. In the initial pilot study, children at some stage of their school career. Now the ioms or body language, identify an object from
a spoken description or retell a local news
story. The school has since seen improvements
in vocabulary, behaviour and social skills.
Deb Nicholl-Holt, one of the creators of
Bolton’s Secondary Talk programme, points
out children are expected to learn through
listening at least 60 per cent of the time in
primary school, but in secondary school this
increases to 90 per cent. Hopefully, with initia-
tives focused on improving language skills,
children like Liam will not be left behind.
Sal McKeown
Useful links
l A Chance to Talk
www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/a
RICHARD LEA-HAIR
chancetotalk
l ELCISS
www.elciss.com
By age 11, children should be able to:
Begin to appreciate Use sophisticated words Tell elaborate, Manage and Explain some rules of
sarcasm, eg “My best but meaning might not entertaining stories organise collaborative grammar and know
vase, broken – that was always be accurate, eg that are full of detailed tasks. when a sentence is not
really clever”. “We had to corporate to descriptions. grammatically correct.
get the task done”.

6. 6
1 2
The 5 communication I can’t get words out
Difficulties with talking include
I don’t understand words
Including difficulties
barriers speech that is unclear, a stammer understanding specific
or difficulty talking in sentences. meanings of words or long
or complicated sentences.
Hello, what’s going on in 2011?
Hello hidden and, in the worst cases, invisible.
Hello is the national year of communica- “Ultimately, this is about recognising chil-
tion. It is run by The Communication Trust, dren’s needs and, while quality first teaching
an alliance of 40 voluntary organisations, is fundamental, many children will also need
with expertise in speech, language and specialist support and interventions. With
communication, in partnership with educational reforms taking place, it is vital
Communication Champion Jean Gross. these children do not become invisible again,
Hello is backed by the Department for which is why we are calling on all teachers
Education and Department of Health and to take part in Hello.”
sponsored by BT and Pearson Assessment. Larry Stone, president of group public
Anita Kerwin-Nye, director of The and government affairs at BT, says:
Communication Trust, says: “As a former “Communication is key to our business.
teacher, I know that communication But it needs to be everyone’s business. We
difficulties do not have the same profile in depend on people being able to talk, listen
schools as dyslexia or autism. It is more and connect with others.” Hello helps teachers
Schools will find plenty of inspiration on
the Hello website: fact files, classroom
resources and stories.
You can read about Aspull Primary,
Wigan, where pupils applied to be part
of a communication team and
undertake activities such as reading
regularly to younger children.
In Southwark, schools ran drama-
based language intervention groups,
while Coventry primary schools took
part in a “Zippy Lips” day, when
children had to communicate without
speech and discuss what that felt like.
Hello offers free resources such as
Misunderstood, an easy-to-read guide
to speech, language and communication
needs; Don’t Get me Wrong, which
explains the issues further; What’s
Typical Talk posters; and Universally
Speaking “ages and stages” booklets
for primary and secondary.
To support parents with family
talking activities, you can use Listen
Up – a “fortune teller” game. A
resource to help school improvement
planning for language and
communication will soon be on the site,
with signposting to screening tools,
interventions and whole-class schemes.
By age 13/14, children should be able to:
Understand instructions decide who you are Infer meaning, working Understand the Use sarcasm to interact
that don’t follow the working with and what out information not given difference between the with peers and familiar
same order as words in positions you are playing. directly, eg she grabbed style of talk used with adults.
the sentence, eg before her coat and ran out of the friends to that needed
you get your equipment, door (she was in a hurry). in the classroom.

7. 7
3 4 5
I don’t know how to I don’t have enough words I have multiple barriers
have a conversation Some children have speech Often because these difficulties
Perhaps through not listening that is immature for their age are linked with other conditions
well, interrupting too much or and have a limited vocabulary. such as autism, Down’s
struggling to join in with group syndrome or physical difficulties.
conversations.
No Pens Day The communication barriers impairment or SLI. Others have
Wednesday Being able to say what you want to say
and understand what other people are
saying is the most important skill we
difficulties with other conditions such as
autism, Down’s syndrome or physical
difficulties.
What is it? need in life. Yet many people take Some children will be able to use
The Communication Champion and The communication for granted. their voice to communicate, while some
Communication Trust, as part of Hello, are In the UK today, one million children may use other ways such as electronic
asking schools to choose one day when they (or two to three in every classroom) have communication aids, gestures and signs:
focus on speaking and listening in every speech, language and communication alternative and augmentative
lesson for every child. needs. Each child’s difficulty will be communication (AAC).
different – for some, it will have a huge The Communication Trust represents
When is it? impact; for others less so – but left 40 organisations with expertise across the
Wednesday 28 September is the target day, untreated their difficulties will severely full range of speech, language and
but schools can choose another date if that limit their potential. communication needs. Organisations
suits them better. Above are some of the ways a child range from the British Stammering
with speech, language and communication Association to Afasic (which supports
Don’t schools do speaking and listening needs will struggle. children and young people with SLI) and
anyway? Some children have language Communication Matters – a UK-wide
Yes, but it is often mixed in with reading and difficulties as their main or only difficulty organisation focused on AAC.
writing. No Pens Day Wednesday is to be a – this is known as a specific language www.talkingtrouble.info
day where children put down their pens and
use their ears and their voices.
Why is it needed?
Language is central to teaching and
learning, but in poorer areas more than 50
per cent of children are starting school with
delayed communication skills. Their speech
may be unclear, vocabulary is smaller,
Useful links
sentences are shorter and they are able to
understand only simple instructions. Poor l Hello resources
language skills go hand in hand with poor www.hello.org.uk/resources
literacy. A child’s vocabulary at age five is a l The Communication Trust
very strong indicator of the qualifications www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk
they will achieve at KS4 and beyond so the l The Speech, Language and
more schools can do to raise speech and Communication Framework online tool
language levels, the better a child’s chance www.talkingpoint.org.uk/slcf
of success in later life. l Free BT resources to support
communication and collaboration skills
How can our school get involved? www.bt.com/learningandskills
See http://bit.ly/NoPens to find more l Information on children’s communication
information about the scheme. Fill in the www.talkingpoint.org.uk
online form to receive a free activity pack l The Royal College of Speech and
with lesson plans, curriculum ideas, Language Therapists
resources and information for parents. www.rcslt.org
By age 18, young people should be able to:
Know when and why they ingredients together, I’m Be more skilful in Understand well the Use a good range of
don’t understand and ask just not sure what they discussions and use a words that are used in more difficult words and
for help with what they mean by ‘fold’”. range of arguments to questions in exams and phrases, eg exhausted,
are struggling with, eg “I persuade others. the classroom. meandered, noxious,
understand you mix the incessant.

8. 8
The very social network
Moving On
Moving from school into the world of
employment brings new communication
For those who prefer to communicate start to understand the hidden messages challenges, and Moving On is a free resource
via a keyboard rather than the spoken behind people’s communication.” designed to help young people.
word, social media has expanded their In the UK, 47 per cent of businesses in Part of the BT Learning & Skills
world. Now the launch of a Facebook app to England claim that they find it difficult to programme, Moving On has three online
help young people aged 14-19 develop their recruit staff with an appropriate level of oral modules that are linked to the curriculum
communication skills could expand it back communication skills. Often, young people do and designed to help those aged 14-19 learn
into a vocal environment. not realise how vital good communications more about themselves, the skills they will
Young people like Chris Pike, 18, from skills are until they enter the world of work. need in life and work and how to develop
Warrington, Cheshire. Chris has Asperger’s Using the Talk Gym Facebook app, users and show these when applying for jobs.
syndrome and finds it difficult to pick up on can check their “talk fitness” by answering Through a mixture of video, student
nuances in the spoken word. He explains: six questions about themselves and then a worksheets, audio clips, students can work
“It’s actually an incredibly complicated friend or relative can answer the same through the resources and find out more
thing, communication. You think it’s really questions via Facebook. The answers appear about how to approach jobseeking and what
simple, but actually a tiny change in the way anonymously in a graph and the app uses sort of jobs they would suit.
you say a word can make a massive the responses to assess the individual’s
difference to the meaning of a sentence.” communication ability. From this, the Talk l BT’s Moving On
Using BT’s Talk Gym has helped him Gym user receives information on why www.bt.com/movingon
learn more about himself, but also, communication skills are important and tips
importantly, how to deal with his on being clear, listening, talking in groups number of strands in Scotland’s Curriculum
relationships with his friends. and being interviewed. for Excellence.
“It has certainly taught me some Talk Gym has been designed to support Free teachers’ resources are available to
things. It has made it easier for me to speaking and listening in the National download to help teachers make the best use
communicate with my friends. It has Curriculum for England and Wales, the of the app, and this includes guidance on
made me empathise with my friends a Cross-Curricular skills in the National using social media as a learning tool.
bit more in certain situations... you Curriculum for Northern Ireland and a www.bt.com/talkgym