How speech therapy can help thousands of school children manage emotions, make friends and learn
Speech and language therapy improves mental health, reduces behavioural problems and exclusion rates in schools, and can help break cycles of intergenerational poverty
Human relationships are based on communication. The ability to express ourselves, understand others and connect with them is fundamental to our wellbeing, learning and participation in society. When communication breaks down, the impact is felt not only by individuals, but also within families, nurseries, schools and communities.
In Scotland, we’re facing growing challenges within our education system and communication is a significant part of that picture. Around one-in-four children and young people, approximately 275,000, have speech, language and communication needs. That’s enough to fill Murrayfield Stadium four times over.
Teachers and nursery staff are calling out for speech and language therapists to help them support these children. They report a significant proportion are coming to school with challenges around communication, meaning they struggle to follow instructions, manage emotions, build friendships and engage with learning.
READ MORE: The truth about the explosion of children with additional support needs in Scotland's classrooms
The Forth Valley experience
When communication needs go unmet, this can lead to distressed behaviour and disengagement, adding to high teacher workloads and increasingly complex classroom environments.
Having worked as a speech and language therapist for over 23 years, I saw that support was often delivered in isolation from education. Even with skilled professionals and the best intentions, the way support was organised placed limits on what could be achieved. It became clear that a different, more collaborative approach was needed.
So, what would it look like to organise support around children, rather than around services? In Forth Valley, health and education partners answered that question by listening to families, education and health staff. What they heard was that speech and language therapy support was too distant from where children learn and communicate.
In response, they pooled health and education funding and relocated speech and language therapists into schools and nurseries in Clackmannanshire, Falkirk and Stirling. Speech and language therapists now have a regular presence, building relationships with education staff, delivering support to children where they are, and helping to prevent harm earlier.
The results speak for themselves. Children requiring support are identified earlier, meaning challenges are tackled before they escalate. Across Forth Valley, 97 per cent of children receive support within 12 weeks of a request, and over a third within a week. Concerns are addressed quickly through advice, reassurance, access to universal and targeted support, and one-to-one support where required.
ASN pupil exclusions almost halved
Families living in poverty often face the greatest challenges and putting barriers in their way to accessing support, such as needing to travel for speech and language therapy, can make existing problems worse. Going to where the children are has proved to be effective in improving individual outcomes for those with the greatest needs.
Teachers can learn from speech and language therapists, gaining skills to deliver wider communication support, benefiting all the children in the classroom. Indeed, teachers rated speech and language therapists as the most effective of all supporting partners.
Communication-friendly environments were created in schools and nurseries, improving interaction, inclusion and outcomes for all the children. In one local authority, exclusions for pupils with additional support needs almost halved, and literacy levels rose sharply.
This approach has long-term benefits. We know that early speech and language therapy intervention improves mental health and reduces behavioural challenges. Children with improved language skills experience higher literacy levels and improved attainment, opening pathways to sustained, rewarding employment and helping break cycles of intergenerational poverty. These are outcomes which help the individual, their family, society and the economy.
Politicians take note
The evidence is clear. Children in Forth Valley have been helped; it is now time to roll this out across Scotland so that all children can benefit. As we approach the Scottish Parliament elections in May, the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists is campaigning on this as a key ask for the incoming government.
Based on evidence collected from Forth Valley, we are calling for a speech and language therapist to be embedded in every school and nursery in Scotland. This is achievable over the five years of the next Scottish Government and would make a tangible difference to the lives of our children.
Yes, this would require more resources, but it is not just about putting more money into the system. It requires a pooling of existing funding pots between health and education, and an expansion of access to the speech and language profession – another one of our key asks – to ensure we train enough therapists to meet the requirement.
Scotland is, in any event, short of speech and language therapists. Here, we have one per 4,031 people, compared to one per 3,485 in the rest of the UK. Increasing the workforce is therefore essential.
But this is not about using additional resources to do more of the same. Embedding speech and language therapists within schools and nurseries allows new capacity to be used to transform how support is delivered in Scotland, directing it to where we can have the greatest impact for children.
Along with our other recommendations – which include investing more in adult speech and language therapy services to reflect a growing older-age population and strengthening communication rights for everyone in Scotland through legislation – we believe we can make transformational changes to people’s lives.
These asks have been developed with the strong support of our members and reflect our key priorities. If implemented, they will improve the lives of people of all ages with speech, language and communication needs, allowing them to access public services and participate in employment and civic life without barriers, improving their outcomes and alleviating poverty.
Nothing about our proposal is party political or ideological. It is simply sensible. It is investment which delivers educationally, socially and financially, and we submit it as a perfect fit for any and all manifestos.
Glenn Carter is head of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists in Scotland
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.