working within Education
Working in close collaboration with the young people themselves, the staff teams and the parents reduces the impact of SLCN on a child's day to day life.
Here are some key challenges we recognise at different stages of education which we aim to support:
Preschool & Primary:
Preschool settings may be the first time that a SLCN is picked up. We know that as soon as the child’s needs are recognised and they receive the right support, the greater the outcome will be
Primary School may be the child’s first experience of structured teaching which may highlight various SLCN. If help has not been received prior to this, or as soon as a need is identified, the gap will quickly grow between the child and their peers.
Secondary:
Transitioning to secondary school can be a daunting prospect for all children, the curriculum becomes more complex and social demands increase. There is a greater need for independence and academic success. This will all contribute to the young person being able to achieve their full potential in adulthood. This is a crucial opportunity to ensure that young people get the most from their education and receive the right support for their SLCN.
Special School / Specialist Provision:
Special schools often work with the more complex needs and the school team have existing specialist knowledge in their field. This is where specialist speech and language therapy skills are needed and a more detailed and intricate decision making process needs to take place.
Young People
We work with young people out in the community and in their learning settings with learning difficulties, Autism, Global Developmental Delay, Hearing Impairment and Downs Syndrome.
We recognise the importance of working with young people to support their functional communication in natural contexts, prioritising life skills and we prioritise self advocacy and autonomy.
"Working with STS has been invaluable to us as a Primary school. STS have great experience and indepth knowledge about speech and language, and attention and listening. They go above and beyond to support and share their expertise!"
Helen, Phase Leader EYFS and Key Stage
The setting of functional and meaningful goals ensures that we are working on the areas that matter most.
This involves a process of some or all of the following:
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Formal and informal assessment of pupils’ speech language and communication difficulties.
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Supporting the set up of the environment through "Environmental Health Checks" to foster greater communicative competence for the young people across the setting
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Working with learners in learners in groups, individual sessions, or in class whose communication difficulties are having the greatest impact on the following areas:
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Forming and maintaining friendships
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Developing independence and life skills
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Achieving emotional wellbeing
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Accessing learning and getting needs met
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Reaching their full potential
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Meeting EHCP requirements in the most functional and meaningful way.
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Up skilling teachers and teaching assistants to be able to carry over speech therapy work throughout the week.
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Joint planning with teachers to ensure communication levels are considered throughout the curriculum.
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Inputting into school target setting.
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Liaising with and empowering parents, and supporting them to generalise strategies into the home environment.
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Implementing, producing and embedding evidence based strategies to help tackle the greatest areas of need in the school at an environmental/individual/ targeted level.
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Specific training tailored for your setting.
what our schools say
We have renewed our contract with Speech Therapy Services for a number of years. This is due to their knowledgeable and professional service. We rely on them to provide us with the most up to date and evidence based approaches. Their impact on our pupils is seen in our data and across their lives as STS work on staff development, setting up systems, and parent support in addition to direct speech therapy. They are part of our school team and a vital part of our Autism Resource Provision.
Sara - Resource Provision Lead
We have been working with Speech Therapy Services since 2021 and have found them a delight to work with. The expertise that has been brought into the school setting has been outstanding, and our pupils have benefited from their input. Our Speech and Language therapist, Margaux, works collaboratively with the school and puts the children's interest at the heart of what she does. Multiple specialist programs have been designed for pupils with communication and language difficulties and several CPD sessions have been run for teaching and inclusion staff, which have been beneficial for all. We would very much recommend Speech Therapy Services for your speech & language support.
Ellie - SENDCO