The term speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) is commonly used to describe a wide range of issues that make it difficult for children and young people to communicate and interact with others. SLCN is the most common childhood disability in the UK with 10% of pupils entering school with delayed speech or a language development need. Learners with SLCN may have difficulty with stammering, loss of voice, problems producing sounds or using language accurately. They may struggle to express their ideas and communicate their needs. In group settings, they may find it difficult to follow instructions and comprehend non-verbal cues.

This course aims to develop the knowledge, skills and practice of all education professionals working with children and young people (CYP) with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). You will learn how to assess the needs of a learner and go on to develop a support plan consisting of SMART goals and interventions, which you will implement and later review to determine how well it has met the learner’s specific developmental needs. SLCN is often a feature of other special educational needs so this is a good foundational course to strengthen your capacity to support learners with SLCN and other co-morbidities, such as a hearing impairment and autism.

The course content relates to learners in compulsory education (4-18 years), however, the theory of language development and many of the assessment and intervention strategies can be contextualised and implemented in an early years setting.

This course responds to the information needs of the whole community centred around supporting the child/young person with SLCN. Parents and carers benefit from raised awareness of their child’s needs. Advisory teachers, therapists and educational psychologists gain access to evidence based CPD resources that can be used to strengthen capacity in their local authority and schools. Schools can use this course to train individuals or groups of teachers and teaching support staff as part of a school’s improvement plan or a whole-school initiative. NQTs/RQTs also build a secure knowledge of the graduated approach at the start of their career.

Our courses are structured into four sections. Click on the section headings to reveal page titles and some example content.