Significant waiting times for those needing assessment and treatment from the speech and language therapy (SLT) service.
Aspiration: Ensure speech language and communication needs (SLCN) of children are effectively identified at early stages and there is high quality support at universal and targeted levels to reduce the number of children who require more specialist support.
10. Actions to ensure clarity about the support available.
This will collect and map all speech and language therapy services available from public health, early years settings and other providers and ensure this is available on the Local Offer.
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4.1.1 Collate details of all support currently available from Public Health for those with speech, language and communication needs including from the Best Start to Life programme.
4.1.2 Collate details of all support currently available from Early Years Settings for those with speech, language and communication needs.
4.1.3 Map the full offer of current speech and language therapy support – SLT Handbook.
4.1.4 Collate details of all other support currently available for speech, language and communication needs (excluding Speech and Language Therapy - SLT).
4.1.5 Publish all the support available on the local offer website.
4.1.6 Promote the support on offer via SEND newsletter, local offer website, SCHT NHS (National Health Service) speech and language therapy website, PACC newsletters, SENCo and Head Teacher networks.
4.1.7 Have a specific speech, language and communication needs area on local offer website (as requested through the Local Offer working group).
4.1.7 Continue the multiagency speech, language and communication needs workstream to enable the continuation of support for SLCN being delivered by all.
11. Actions to ensure good quality support for Early Years and Educational Settings.
This will include evaluation of Talk Boost and development of training for settings.
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4.2.1 Education to promote the use of SLC UK data tracking to support the implementation of Talk Boost.
4.2.2 All settings to utilise the SLC UK data reporting on Talk Boost.
4.2.3 Evaluation of the impact of Talk Boost, including the impact on the early identification and support of speech, language and communication needs. This evaluation to be reported to the speech, language and communication needs workstream, Quality & Assurance Group and SEND Partnership Board.
4.2.4 Planned Inclusion sessions for early years and educational settings including speech, language and communication needs.
4.2.5 Review and develop the outreach support available to early years & education settings to identify needs early and provide good quality support, including best practice speech, language and communication needs teaching (SLCN Primary Talk and Early Talk ICAN).
4.2.6 Pilot the roll out of Talk Boost Year 7.
4.2.7 Continue to deliver Early Years, KS1 and KS2 of Talk Boost training to ensure sustainability.
4.2.8 Videoing speech and language therapy training offer to make it more accessible to support early identification and addressing children and young people’s needs.
4.2.9 speech and language therapy relaunching traded services offer for ELKLAN.
12. Actions to ensure good quality support for parents and carers.
This will include peer support, advice and training for parents.
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4.3.1 Enhance the peer support offer for families regarding speech, language and communication needs, adopting a SLCN champions model.
4.3.2 Videoing speech and language therapy training offer to make it more accessible.
4.3.3 Publicise the commitment to speech, language and communication needs being everyone’s responsibility and that everyone has a role to play in supporting SLCN.
4.3.4 Maintain the speech and language therapy service advice line.
Aspiration: children and young people who require Speech and Language Therapy support can access this in a timely way.
13. Actions to ensure the capacity of the speech and language therapy service meets the demands of the population.
Triage to be implemented and the effectiveness of triage and the service as a whole, to be evaluated and developed.
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4.4.1 Complete triage upon referral and implement specialist clinical pathways to ensure children and young people who have the greatest clinical need for specialist speech and language therapy are seen most quickly.
4.4.2 Complete an audit of cases waiting over 6 months to assess the impact of waiting and review the effectiveness of triage. Share the learning from audits with the SEND Partnership Board and Children and Young People and Families System Board.
4.4.3 Complete analysis of current commissioning arrangements across, LA, schools and Health to meet need.
4.4.4 Commissioners to understand current spend, both block contract and individual commissioning and school spend to enable benchmarking.
4.4.5 Commissioner to understand current waiting times from referral to treatment.
4.4.6 Develop, fund and recruit to short term recovery plans.
4.4.7 Understand the capacity of the services currently.
4.4.8 Develop a trajectory of future growth and capacity required to meet the needs including early indicators of the impact of Talk Boost on referral rates.
4.4.9 Develop a business case to fund the increased demands across the age range.
4.4.10 Review the speech and language therapy service specification and ensure that it meets the needs of the population whilst being supported by a context of speech, language and communication needs being supported by all.
14. Actions to monitor and escalate long waits to ICS.
Clear data reporting and assurances on harm and risk.
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4.5.1 Clear data reporting of waiting list from providers with oversight from performance & assurance manager.
4.5.2 Ensure the quality team have assurance in place around harm review and risk process.
4.5.3 Dependant on level of harm as ascertained by harm review and risk process, ensure the potential risks of long waits are noted on the ICB risk registers.
What difference will these actions make and how will this be monitored?
Children, Young People and their families report that they received support when they needed and they understand the support available. Practitioners can signpost effectively and report an improved understanding of Speech, language and Communication needs. This will result in more children achieved expected levels in communication and language. Waiting lists 0-25 will reduce to agreed average waiting times.
This will be monitored and evidenced via the development of a range of family surveys and feedback systems. Waiting lists will be closely monitored and average wait times will be reduced to the levels detailed in the Accelerated Progress Plan by the agreed dates.