NEW TOOLS LAUNCHED FOR SECONDARY STAFF TO TRACK AND MEASURE YOUNG PEOPLE’S SPEECH, LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION

The Communication Trust, a coalition of over 50 not-for-profit organisations with expertise in speech, language and communication, has today (16thMarch) launched new Speech, Language and Communication Progression Toolsfor secondary school teachers and support staff to support the communication development of students aged 11-18.

These Tools have been launched in response to high demand from secondary schools to tackle the poor identification of young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN).

An estimated 10% of children and young people in the UK – over one million - have some form of long-term SLCN, yet research shows that only 3% of the school population is ever identified as having SLCN.

Experts are particularly concerned about the misidentification of SLCN at secondary school. Despite SLCN being the most common type of primary need for pupils with SEN statements, at secondary a significant proportion are identified as having some other kind of SEN need or in fact no SEN needs at all.

The new Progression Tools, designed by expert speech and language therapists in collaboration with mainstream class teachers, teaching assistants, SENCOs and school leadership teams, are available to support young people aged 11-12, 13-14 and 16-18.

They provide a quick way for teaching staff to determineif studentsare at the level expected for their age around speech, language and communication and can also be used to track their progress over time or following interventions.

In line with the SEND Code of Practice 2014, the Tools help teaching staff to identify if studentswould benefit from a targeted intervention or specialist assessment by a speech and language therapist.

Anne Fox, Director of The Communication Trust says:“Young people with SLCN in the UK are slipping through the net at secondary school and this is unacceptable. Their needs are often misunderstood, misinterpreted or just missed altogether and we need to support our teachers and school staff to tackle this head on.

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“SLCN difficulties left unaddressed will directly impact on the ability of young people to succeed and thrive at school. Young people can disengage and are labelled ‘quiet’ or they act out through poor behaviour – either way they are not being supported to achieve their full potential.

“Research shows us that just 13.8% of young people with SLCN achieve 5 GCSEs at grades A*-C including English and maths compared to 70.4%% of all young people. There is a growing demand by teachers to quickly and easily identify young people who need help and our new Speech, Language and Communication Progression Tools for Secondary Schools provide a simple comprehensive checklist for schools to use.”

ShonaCrichton, Professional Advisor for The Communication Trust and expert speech and language therapist who helped develop the Secondary Progression Tools, says: “Secondary teachers play a key role in supporting and enhancing young people’s speech, language and communication. It is not too late in their education – particularly to support those who are struggling.

“The Secondary Progression Tools are based on our understanding of typical language development. Each Tool contains questions to ask the students,structured observations of language and communication skills within the classroom and information for staff on how to administer the Tools and score and interpret the results that they get. We have also developed a video to show examples of ways to use the Tools and guidance on the scoring section.

“Whilst these Tools do not replace a detailed speech, language and communication assessment by a speech and language therapist that some young people will need, it will help schools to target interventions and support more effectively.”

Keith Dawes, AVP Extended Learning teacher at Clacton Coastal Academy, said: “There are so many different learning and assessment tools on the market at the moment but The Communication Trust’s Secondary Progression Tools are more robust and effective in identifying specific student communication needs.

“When the Progression Tools were tested on our students, it gave us a greater understanding of our students communication needs, which is allowing us to tailor their learning and in turn provide them with the education they need. We are extremely proud to have been involved in the shaping and piloting of these Tools.”

Skye Price, a pupil at Clacton Coastal Academy in year eight said: “The assessment helped my teachers understand how to support me.”

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These new resources, funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, arethe latest in the suite of Speech, Language and Communication Progression Tools developed by The Communication Trust for the education sector.

Each Secondary Progression Tool will be available to buy for £29.99 or for £76.47 as a set from

A ‘How to use the Progression Tools’ video has been created to help teaching staff, and ensure they are conducting the questions and observations in the right way. The video is available on The Communication Trust’s website at:

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For Further Information

For further information, or to interview representatives from The Communication Trust, please contact Laura Smith at Consilium Communications on / 07766651366.

Notes to Editors

  • The Communication Trust is a coalition of over 50 leading voluntary sector organisations, which raises awareness, influences policy, promotes best practice among the children’s workforce and commissions work from its members.
  • The Speech, Language and Communication Progression Tools are based on The Communication Trust’s Universally Speaking booklets, which show where children should be with their communication skills at any given age.
  • These booklets act as a good starting point for teachers who want to look at individual students, classes or groups as a whole to see how their language is progressing. They are available to download for free from
  • For more information about the Trust visit follow on Twitter @Comm_nTrust