SLCN Blog

Dr Samantha Weld-Blundell, emphasizes that anxiety is a natural part of being human. In this blog, she provides valuable tips to support children with anxiety, including grounding activities, breathing exercises, reducing unknowns, & structured games.

The UK government launched the SEND and AP Improvement Plan in the spring of 2023. The plan recognises that many schools struggle to support pupils’ special educational needs and disabilities, including speech, language and communication needs. How does the new SEND and AP Improvement plan link with supporting speech and language in schools?

When a pupil hurries over and asks to help, it might be tempting to say no for a whole host of reasons, including the additional time it will take! In this blog we explore where saying ‘yes’ might lead, and why we need to find space in the school day for our enthusiastic helpers to join in.

Some pupils are really good at masking their language and communication difficulties – especially when they have a ‘partner in crime’ to help them. Read on to find out how Ben’s friendship concealed the difficulties he was having in class and how, when this support was removed, the detrimental effect it had on Ben’s behaviour and well-being.

We all have times when we feel like we have missed something, something that everyone else seems to get. Our anxiety levels start to creep up and we begin to feel uncomfortable and embarrassed when we’re in a situation where we feel that we’re the odd one out! In this month’s blog our new SaLT, Alison explains how her own experiences have helped provide some insight into what having DLD might feel like.