Some children and young people may have speech, language and communication needs that affect their time in school. They may find certain things challenging, such as using language to express themselves, speaking clearly and fluently, understanding what other people say to them and interacting with others.
The Communication Support Team is an education based support team. We work collaboratively with schools, children and young people and their parents and carers, to ensure inclusion, achievement and progression. You do not need an Education, Health and Care Plan, or diagnosis, to access this team.
How to access our support
If you have worries or concerns, it is important that you speak to your child / young person's educational setting. Ensure that you talk to someone who is working with them.
This may be:
- an educational setting
- a post-16 setting
We support children and young people and the teams around them from Foundation Stage upwards. Requests for involvement should be by your child / young person's educational setting. You will be asked to complete a parental consent form. This gives the setting your permission to share your child / young person’s details with us. This is essential for a request for involvement to be considered. Not every request for involvement results in support. Sometimes training for staff will be the most effective way to support your child.
What our support may look like
- watching some learning and interaction happen in your child / young person’s class and / or observing how they communicate around school
- talking with your child / young person about what their educational setting is like for them
- looking at some of your child / young person’s schoolwork and we might take photos of this
- talking to key staff about how your child / young person is progressing in school
- working together with other involved professionals
- helping the educational setting put in place communication strategies to make the environment and for your child / young person to learn more easily
- provide a range of training for people who work with your child / young person to support their speech, language and communication needs within the classroom
- provide coaching and mentoring for Teaching Assistants if recommended by NHS Community Speech and Language Therapists
We will provide a report to set out our findings and recommendations for the educational setting. You will also receive a copy.
Please note that we are not a Speech and Language Therapy Service. If you think you need the involvement of the Children's Speech and Language Therapy Service which is provided by Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, please visit their website using the button below.
Visit Children's Speech and Language Therapy (NHS)