We are more than just an assessment

by Claire Chambers
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Did you know that the therapists at Speech and Language Link collectively have over 100 years of speech and language therapy experience, while our team on the Help Desk has over 50 years of working in schools? That is a LOT of knowledge and explains why we are so passionate and knowledgeable when it comes to supporting pupils with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN).

We understand the challenges that schools face in trying to identify and support pupils who have difficulties with functional language and communicational skills and we are here to help.

Twenty years ago, our lead speech and language therapist began to develop programmes for schools to use to identify pupils' SLCN. Speech and Language Link (for 4–14-year-olds) came into being. It was the ONLY standardised language assessment available that could be administered by school staff rather than a qualified therapist.

A common misconception about Speech and Language Link is that we are just an assessment, but we are so much more.

Yes, online screening is vital (especially when some children are remarkably adept at masking their language difficulties) but the Speech and Language Link support doesn’t stop there. Once you’ve carried out the assessments and know who needs support, the in-package interventions provide the tools you need to help develop the language skills of those identified pupils and much more.

Just imagine:

  • Being able to identify the severity of SLCN for each pupil - discussing the most severe cases with local speech and language therapy services and managing the needs of the mild to moderate in school
  • Talking to real people who understand - our Speech and Language Link Help Desk is here, all year round, to help (this is where all those years of experience come into play)
  • The satisfaction of supporting your pupils using our interventions created by our SaLT team that are fun AND make a difference
  • Being able to track and report the progress of pupils on an individual, class,year group and whole school level ensuring the SENCo and senior leaders get a comprehensive picture of the level of need and provision
  • Getting your parents on board with the in-package homework sheets to help them support the skill that their child is currently working on
  • Being able to access online package training for as many staff as you wish, available at a time to suit them
  • Increasing your SLCN knowledge through our CPD-certified training – The Link Live sessions and The Link Speech and Language CPD

Sure, we are very grateful to be so well known for our robust and award-winning (being one of the best) SLCN assessments (to use in) for schools. But by adding all these extra layers of support on top of this, we are able to offer a full speech and language support package like no other. Assessing is just the first step of the journey, and we want to make sure you are supported at every point.