Today (13 May 2013), we have launched the End of Project report for A Chance to Talk which demonstrated that a whole school approach to supporting children’s speech, language and communication skills can accelerate pupil progress and increase academic performance, resulting in an average 50% increase in progress in reading skills.

The findings of the report have been welcomed by Edward Timpson MP, the Minister for Children and Families. The report is also backed by Jean Gross OBE, the government’s former Communication Champion for England, who was impressed by the progress children made both in spoken language and reading.

Successful three wave models have previously existed in schools for children’s literacy and numeracy, however the major gap to date has been around speech, language and communication. Given that literacy and numeracy skills are underpinned by spoken language, this is a major omission. The A Chance to Talk model involves action at wave one – quality first teaching in the classroom; wave two – a catch up programme for children with delayed language; and wave 3 – specialist intervention from a speech and language therapist.

The A Chance to Talk project has provided evidence for a cost-effective model of commissioning that works to support children’s communication. We are encouraging primary schools nationwide to replicate A Chance to Talk by using the downloadable Commissioning Guidance which supports schools to commission children’s speech, language and communication provision. This guidance encourages schools to collaborate and pool vital resources and expertise effectively.

The report found:

-          By supporting all children’s communication, this led to an average 50% increase in progress in reading over this time.

-          Schools were able to identify children with SLCN earlier and spot previously overlooked SLCN.

-          Children with delayed language made between 9-18 months progress in language after the 10 week intervention Talk Boost. Up to 80% of these children moved into the typical range of language development, helping to narrow the gap between them and their peers. This focus on language for children with delayed development accelerated the progress they made academically.

-          Children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) were given specialist input by a speech and language therapist who also worked with class teachers. Children with SLCN had better speech, language and communication skills, found learning in the classroom easier and were noticeably more confident and sociable.

These report findings are important because they show that using a three level model improves speech, language and communication skills across a school; especially for children with delayed language and those with significant SLCN. Through this report we can also begin to look at evidencing the link between language and school skills, like literacy and numeracy.  Our analysis of school data showed that working on speech, language and communication contributes to children’s academic progress.

The schools involved in the pilot recognised the impact of the three level model and the importance of working on children’s speech, language and communication to improve pupils’ academic and life chances.  All four areas have found the programme met their aims in developing children’s speech, language and communication and supporting those with additional needs, and have set aside resources to continue to fund work in this area.

In Kent and Kirkby, funding has been secured to continue the A Chance to Talk model and roll it out to more schools in both areas.  In Rochdale, schools are commissioning speech and language therapy from their local service. And in North Yorkshire, the Local Authority is delivering I CAN’s Primary Talk training and accreditation to schools across the county.

A Chance to Talk was developed by I CAN and The Communication Trust, with support from the Every Child a Chance Trust and funding from the Department for Education alongside other sources.

For more information about A Chance to Talk, to download the Report or the Commissioning Guidance, go to www.ican.org.uk/achancetotalk

The Government’s Troubled Families programme aims to turn around the lives of 120,000 families in the UK that are classed as “troubled” by the end of this Parliament. A Troubled Family -  according to the payments by results criteria for the programme – is a family that might be workless, and contain children who are persistently anti- social, truanting or excluded from school.

The underlying reality is that many such families are disadvantaged by mental health and other health difficulties and disabilities, difficulties with relationships and parenting, and sometimes histories of domestic violence, personal trauma, as well as poverty and poor housing.

Building up the self-esteem and soft emotional skills of such parents is crucial; as is developing their understanding of the key role of speaking and listening to their children’s emotional development and literacy. I CAN is playing a vital role in delivery by Family Action for the Newham Families First programme. The I CAN Communication Ambassadors project has created a national network of volunteers to take on the role of Ambassadors for children’s speech, language and communication in some of the most disadvantaged areas in England – including Newham. These Ambassadors have provided peer-to-peer support and resources to parents, increasing awareness and understanding of typical communication development and making information and signposting available to those who need it.

The Newham Families First Programme works alongside I CAN to improve the outcomes for Troubled Families. Many parents have been out of work for years and lack the appropriate qualifications and experience to get them back into employment. By using volunteering, the project helps introduce them into the world of work using the I CAN Communication Ambassador Programme. Three families, along with two of the Newham staff, took part in the two and a half hour training course and, once completed, took to the streets and hit Stratford Shopping Centre to hand out leaflets and information about the importance of early years communication to over 300 people.

The I CAN programme has given families the boost they need to make an active contribution to change in their community. The three mums that took part offered help and support to each other, developing a real sense of community between them as well as a sense of achievement once they’d completed it. They now use their experience to spread the word throughout their community and can use their experience of volunteering to enter the world of work once more.

Anne-Marie Fletcher, Project Manager, Newham Families First said:

“We are part of the Troubled Families programme, so any new ways that we can use to engage with these families is a fantastic opportunity. When working with these families, it’s important to us that we celebrate their achievements as much as possible, and the three mums who took part certainly deserve a celebration.

“Taking those first steps back into work can be very daunting, but the I CAN Communication Ambassador programme has enabled them to do it in a way that works best for them, and given them skills that they can use moving forward. We look forward to using the programme with many other families who use our services.”

Why did I decide to run this year’s London Marathon? I’m mad? I’m super fit? I do it every year? None of the above, a few reasons really. I remember growing up and watching the London Marathon on a Sunday morning and thinking, “I will run that one day”. As each year past I said to myself, “Next year”. I’ve come up to a milestone in my life as I have just turned 40 years old! I felt that if I didn’t do it now, I never will!

The other reason is that since 2010, my son Kane who has autism and speech and language difficulties has attended I CAN’s Dawn House School. This school is a specialist school for communication and interaction. Kane struggled in mainstream school and I can honestly say if Kane did not attend Dawn House, I don’t know where he would be?

I signed up to run the London Marathon in November and started my training straight away. Training was going well and then just before Christmas, I broke my wrist. This didn’t stop me and within 10 days I was back up and running with my cast on. My dog Magic a 2 year old Weimanarer was my training partner. He ran the majority of runs with me. I took part in my first ever Canix event with him as part of my training. This involves running with your dog who wears a harness which is then attached to your waist via a lead. He was a great training buddy through those cold winter months. By February I was up to 13 miles on my long runs but I started struggling with shin splints and then pain in my knee due to I.T band problems.  It got to the stage where I thought I would have to pull out of the London Marathon. This was an upsetting prospect for me. I visited a sports physiotherapist who gave me stretches to do and foam rolling. This seemed to work as I ran the Newton Fraction Half Marathon on 10^th March in 2 hours 9 minutes. The weather was awful, it was cold, windy and even snowing at one point, but I did it and was really pleased with my time.

Fundraising wise; I needed to raise £1800 for I CAN. I knew I was not going to raise this all from sponsors, so I organised an 80’s disco at my local village hall which raised £850. I also held a coffee morning plus a friend organised a charity football match which between them raised £370….The fundraising target was in sight!

The day was nearly here and my family and I arrived in London a few days early to do a bit of sightseeing. On the race day we arrived at the start area and I could not believe how many people there were, runners of all ages and sizes including those dressed in all sorts of costumes were getting ready to take on this challenge. There were thousands of runners and the atmosphere was fantastic. Just before the race, 30 seconds of silence was held to remember the tragic events of the Boston Marathon and everyone that took part wore a black ribbon. After that, the start sounded and we were off. The feeling running around London was amazing. The sights, the people cheering you on, I will never forget it.

Before the race I had set a predicted time to run the marathon in 4 hours and 30 minutes. I knew I could do this if I paced myself very steadily. I felt really good all the way round, taking in and enjoying the atmosphere. It was only when I got the 18 miles that I hit ‘the wall’. At this point I really wanted to stop and start walking but amazingly I just carried on running. By 21 miles I seemed to get an extra burst of energy and I felt a lot better. I knew I would see my family and the I CAN cheering point at mile 25 and this definitely pushed me on. It was great to see them at this point and I knew now I only had 1 more mile to go. I could see the finish line and I quickened my pace to reach it; the feeling I got when I crossed that line was fantastic! And it was made even more special when I saw my finishing time; 4 hours 29 minutes and 32 second. The amount of support I received on race day and throughout my fundraising and training has been excellent, which has made me achieve my running time goal and smash my fundraising target – I managed to raise to raise an amazing £2,300 for I CAN. http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/BEVERLEYHANCOCK

I know it is easy for me to say having run the marathon, but I believe anyone has a marathon in them. You don’t have to train every day, but it is hard work and requires dedication and commitment. It is a wonderful feeling to achieve by yourself, for yourself, and no one can take it from you. I am very proud of my medal and now have it framed.

If you are inspired by Bev’s story and want to take on the challenge we are taking applications for the 2014 London Marathon now!

Specific Language Impairment (or SLI as it is often called) is a term that is used to describe difficulties with learning and using language. Children are described as having SLI when they are as clever as other children their age, but they struggle to understand and use language to communicate and learn.  Sometimes children can have speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) that are caused by another condition, for example autistic spectrum disorder, hearing impairment or cerebral palsy; children with SLI have no other condition, their difficulties are specifically to do with learning to understand and use language.

SLI looks different in all children, and is really complicated to understand because we don’t really know the cause. We do know that the speech and language part of the brain does not develop in the right way, even though there are no other problems. We also know that genes play an important part in causing SLI, but there is no medical test to see if a child has it or not. Studies have shown that in 5 year olds, SLI affects about 2 children in every classroom (about 7%) and that it is more common in boys than girls.

Children with SLI usually struggle at school, despite the fact that in lots of ways they are as clever as their classmates.  This is because so much learning depends on being able to understand and use language.  Children with SLI won’t just ‘pick up’ language; they will need to be taught language skills in a specific way.  They will need the right support in order to reach their full potential. This support will be from a speech and language therapist, along with other specialists like a language advisory teacher. 

Often children with SLI will be taught in their local schools.  Sometimes they may go to a speech and language resource, and occasionally they will go to a special school.  With the right support, many children with SLI progress well.  Without the right support SLI may cause a child lifelong difficulties.

Your local speech and language therapist will be able to talk to you about the services available locally to you.  The support your child gets will depend on the type of difficulties he has, how severe his difficulties are and the types of provision near you. 

You can find out more information about SLI in “The SLI Handbook” available from I CAN (www.ican.org.uk)

For more help and advice you could contact Afasic (www.afasic.org.uk)  

To download this factsheet and others, visit www.ican.org.uk/help

Sam gave a moving presentation for five minutes bringing to life how challenging it is to live with a communication difficulty and to highlight the impact of the right support.

Sam said: “I felt honoured and proud to be talking on behalf of I CAN to tell people firsthand about difficulties with SLCN. Also I wanted to repay I CAN for all of their help they’ve given me over the years so I thought my speeches were the first steps towards that.

The key points about my speech were the help and opportunities that I CAN have given me. Over the years I CAN have helped me hugely with my confidence and my speech beyond belief. They have given me opportunity after opportunity to do things that a young person with similar difficulties as me in a mainstream setting doesn’t get. So my key point was that I want those people to have similar opportunities as me because SLCN is common. Young people don’t have to hide their difficulties.

I want to help I CAN achieve their goals for the future and to raise awareness of SLCN to other organisations.”

Linda, Sam’s mum said: “We were immensely proud that Sam had been asked to speak at I CAN’s 125^th Anniversary launch event. If anyone had suggested to us when Sam was younger that he would be speaking at formal events when he was older, we wouldn’t have believed them. It really was unimaginable – he couldn’t really say a word until he was 8 or 9 years old! We were also a bit nervous for him. He’d made an amazing speech at the House of Lords in December but there was no guarantee that he could repeat that performance.

Sam was very calm and collected though and approached the occasion with such confidence and positivity that made us believe he could do it.

On the night he exceeded all our expectations and was amazing. It is very difficult to put our emotions into words – listening to him delivering his speech about his journey made even us realise how far he had come and how brave and resilient he had been. We felt immensely proud and full of admiration for him – mixed with concern that he might make a mistake or lose his nerve – but he didn’t.  We also realised that this was an incredible opportunity for him – almost a spring board into the future which always seemed very uncertain but now seems full of opportunities for Sam.

We hoped that Sam would be able to help the audience understand what it’s like to have a severe speech and language problem. And also, how with the right help, you can overcome many of the issues and find your own path and way in the world. We also hoped he would inspire people and motivate them to continue to support I CAN.

We are so grateful to I CAN for firstly providing the schools and infrastructure to help children like Sam – if it hadn’t been there he would be a very different young man. We’re also grateful for them inviting Sam to speak on their behalf – believing in him has increased his belief in himself!”

Find out more about what it is like to have SLCN by watching this two minute film that was also shown at the launch event.

For more experienced practitioners wanting to develop their skills further and gain a level 4 qualification, ELDP has teamed up with Elklan to deliver ‘Speech and Language Support for 0-3s’. For more information about this free course, please contact Sally McAlister on 020 7843 2562 or smcalister@ican.org.uk.

We are really pleased that I CAN, along with the early language consortium, has achieved over its original target for phase one of the Early Language Development Programme.  The final number of lead practitioners trained to deliver 3 different courses supporting speech, language and communication development with children under 3 is a fantastic 998!  This means that there are 500 hubs across England (involving 112 Local Authorities).  44 training courses were run between February 2012 and March 2013.

The next phase of the ELDP is well on its way with 5000 more practitioners having been involved in local training courses.  I CAN advisors will be supporting greater cascading of the three training courses by local hubs across the next 12 months.

An even deeper understanding of early communication and language development can be gained through a new level 4 course developed by Elklan, as part of ELDP.  The first pilot of this course has now been completed with the finalised course being available free as an e-learning package or through free face to face training sessions.

For up to date information on all aspects of the Early Language Development Programme, visit http://eldp.talkingpoint.org.uk.

As well as supporting children directly, a large proportion of our work is helping parents / carers and early years education professionals to support children’s specific speech, language and communication needs.

Recently I have joined I CAN’s Licensed Tutor network

I initially trained in the Nuffield Early Language Intervention as this has the strongest research based evidence to prove the intervention works.

Nuffield is an evidenced-based oral language intervention programme for children in nursery and reception classes. The rigorous research shows children who receive the programme make significant gains in several aspects of oral language including vocabulary knowledge, grammatical ability and narrative skills.

I then trained to be a Talk Boost tutor. Talk Boost is a targeted and evidenced intervention for children with delayed language. Research shows it can boost a child’s communication by an average of 18 months after ten weeks of intervention.

It is easy to see how the Talk Boost resources can be readily accessed and shared in settings, perfect as a ‘targeted’ resource. The next step for me is running our own courses with others.

I am most excited about how parents and setting staff respond to and embrace these interventions. Importantly, we need to be able to observe and measure the impact these interventions have on the children we work with.”

Victoria Wadsworth, Specialist Speech and Language Therapist, Rochdale’s I CAN Specialist Early Years Service

I CAN are recruiting experienced communication practitioners to cascade a wide range of training days for schools and settings. For a limited time only, we are offering training bursaries for all our Licensed Tutor courses so the only thing you need to pay for are the resources!

If you are interested in becoming a Licensed Tutor for any of our courses and want to find out more about our range of bursaries, email licensing@ican.org.uk.  Terms and Conditions apply.

Every training day involves preparation and often starts with telephone conversations between practitioners and I CAN. It’s important that the training delivered meets expectations and has the outcomes for children and staff that the setting is looking for. Often a Head teacher thinks that they want one course but by the end of the conversation opt for something else.

Once a date is agreed I spend some time before the session preparing the activities. The I CAN courses are always interactive as participants seem to learn more by doing and talking rather than being talked at for a day!

I live in the South West so some venues I can drive to, but generally I travel by train the night before to ensure that I’m at the venue with plenty of time to set up. I’m never quite sure what to expect before I arrive and every training session is different. Nurseries and schools often have very limited space and sometimes this means that I’m training in an office or classroom. What I do know though is that the organiser will be welcoming, accommodating and interested in the content of the day. Once the PowerPoint is on the screen and the DVD (if needed) is tested I can begin to relax.

The start of the training can be tricky as I try to engage practitioners and ensure that I pitch the information at the correct level.  When I deliver whole school training like ‘Primary Talk’ I can have a group of up to 30 staff ranging from the Head Teacher, teachers, TAs and sometimes lunchtime supervisors. I tend to organise the tables into key stages and ensure a skill mix. Often staff have the opportunity to work with colleagues that they haven’t really spoken to before.

Keeping an eye on the time, I move through the various units of the course, responding to aspects that the group is particularly interested in and relating the information to their context. This varies in each setting depending on previous experience and training and the type of children they are working with. I always encourage participants to ask questions. This enables me to follow their interests and monitor their understanding of the materials.

Training sessions provide staff with an opportunity to reflect on their practice and plan for making changes to the way they work. Sometimes staff think that they will need to commit lots of time to making changes , but often it’s about small tweaks to practice and using strategies consistently across the school and during the whole day.

After the training I enjoy discussing with the organisers how they will ensure that the strategies/intervention covered in the training will be taken forward and how they are going to measure the impact. I always leave my contact details so that they can call/email me if they need any further support.

The most rewarding part of training is knowing that you are providing staff with evidence informed information that if implemented will have a positive impact on children’s communication skills and lead to improved attainment, quality of teaching,  behaviour and well being.

For further information about Primary Talk or training with I CAN please contact Joanna Clarke on 020 7843 2515, primarytalk@ican.org.uk or visit our website www.ican.org.uk

Whilst I had been mulling over how to raise funds to support Meath School (that is run by I CAN), I had thought of rather unrealistic and over adventurous ideas which would have no doubt cost the earth to do and therefore meant little profit left over for I CAN. So the marathon it was.

I guess I should really begin a little earlier than last October to explain our family circumstances and as to why I am trying to raise funds for I CAN to support Meath School.

For those of you reading this article, who do not know our family circumstances, you will most likely have never heard of the term ‘Worster Drought Syndrome*’; you are in a good company as I had neither……at least not until 5 years ago.

Our son Archie, was born in 2005 weighing in a little over 4 pounds, and has generally been a healthy and happy child, so long as he is well fed! But he was a slow developer, being late to sit up as a baby, and latterly to walk. More disturbingly he also often dribbled. After a number of appointments with various specialists we received his diagnosis late in 2008.

The shock of being told by doctors that Archie (then aged 3) would never be able to speak normally and would probably need life-long support (as his condition presents other problems) came as a massive shock to Annabel and I, as well as to our eldest child, Phoebe. We were further knocked last year when our youngest child William (now aged 3) was also diagnosed with the same condition; it is a form of Cerebral Palsy, but localised to the mouth, limiting the muscle coordination between the brain and the tongue.

It is understandably difficult for those not in the same boat to imagine what it feels like, but to try and sum it up; you effectively mourn the life you expected and hoped for, for your child, or in our case two. When you want the best for your children it is very tough to get your head around the fact that ‘their hill’ to climb in life has just become ‘a mountain’.

Last October, when I signed up to do the Marathon I still remained hopeful that one day I would hear Archie (now aged 8) calling me “Daddy”. The simplest things in life are so often overlooked.

As for running I have always found the occasional run a fantastic way to clear the cobwebs and lift oneself. Thus the heavy heart feels a lot less heavy once the usual circuit of 8 miles or so, around the rather lethal lanes of north Buckinghamshire is completed.

I had in fact done the London Marathon back in 1998; a lifetime ago as far as my aging forty something body was concerned. Whilst I was intent on trying to raise £5,000 I was equally keen to try and beat my last time of 3 hours 57 minutes.

Whilst training during the dark cold winter months (that still persist as I write this) has been grueling, strangely the hardest thing for me was to press the ‘send’ button on my PC, to email to family, friends and work colleagues my begging letter for sponsorship.

Whilst of course friends and family knew of our circumstances, many at work did not. I had perhaps thought it would be simpler if colleagues at work did not know, and had sought to avoid letting on about the difficulties Archie and William faced.  I had a photo on my desk of our three happy smiling ‘normal’ children, and I enjoyed for some reason the fact that many of my colleagues just took the picture at face value. How wrong I was.

The spontaneous reaction from the email I sent was something I had not factored in at all. Whether it was the extraordinary generosity of some, or others emailing that they were desperately keen to support me, but would I mind waiting until ‘pay day’. I was equally moved. I guess you could say that this was my equivalent of coming out, and God did it feel good!

As far as the training is concerned I have so far been fortunate to remain uninjured, although am currently nursing a very heavy cold that makes running up the stairs seem a Herculean effort. But better to have it now than the week of the marathon.

Whilst I went through my fundraising target after only a week, I am not sure I will ever let my wife volunteer me into running another marathon. Hence any further support is massively appreciated.

There are only a handful of specialist speech and language schools in the UK and sadly many children who suffer never get access to the right support early on to help them. So if the idea of giving disadvantaged children a better chance in life chimes with you here’s your chance to give to a small but incredibly worthwhile charity (I CAN), and to provide such children a chance to lead a more “normal” life. Please do click on the link below; it should take no more than 2 minutes to donate.

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/OliverBates

And will your donation be well spent? Well since I sent my email out last October, Meath School has succeeded in developing Archie’s speech to the extent that he can now say the magic word “Daddy”….and that’s priceless.

* For those want to understand more about Worster Drought Syndrome please click on the following link: http://www.wdssg.org.uk/articles/wds_p5.pdf

Early Talkers, our best selling resource, is a set of three activity card packs for parents and practitioners to use with children between birth and five years. Providing over 90 activity cards which build children’s language development, the box set has continued to be highly rated since it was released last September.

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