Schools white paper: Supporting all children to make sure their voice is heard

The recently published Levelling Up white paper included as one of its 12 missions that by 2030, 90 per cent of children will achieve the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, and the percentage of children meeting the expected standard in the worst performing areas will have increased by over a third. If the government is serious about meeting this ambitious target, it must ensure that supporting children with difficulties speaking and understanding language are at the heart of its plans.

At I CAN, the children’s communication charity, we know that children who struggle with speaking and understanding language are held back from achieving their potential – as many as one in four children who struggled with language at age five did not reach the expected standard in English at the end of primary school. 

Yet, there is a clear evidence base that shows how with some relatively low-level interventions and support, a significant number of children who are behind can be helped to catch up quickly with their peers. Language interventions such as I CAN’s Talk Boost intervention programmes enable educators to support pupils with difficulties speaking and understanding language with almost two thirds catching up with their peers after just eight to ten weeks.

Language interventions on their own are of course only part of the solution. Teachers and schools must also be supported to develop their pupils speaking and understanding of language through high quality guidance, training and resources. 

Additional training for school staff could be delivered at a relatively low cost but have a high impact in ensuring staff can identify where children are behind and to provide additional support for children’s speaking and understanding skills in the classroom. This should be underpinned by statutory requirements to measure and track progress in speaking and understanding, which will help encourage schools to take a whole school approach. Such an approach would help improve skills among children who are at the margins, ensure targeted short-term support is in place to help those who are behind to catch up and make sure those with more complex needs have ongoing access to specialist support, such as speech and language therapy.

The pandemic has made ensuring schools have a greater focus on speaking and understanding even more pressing. Our latest report revealed that because of the pandemic, as many as 1.5 million children are at risk of not being able to speak or understand language at an age-appropriate level.

We recently spoke at an event alongside Voice 21 and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) on Oracy and on Speech and Language Difficulties. Schools Minister Robin Walker heard from all of us about the difference a focus on spoken language and communication skills can make to pupils. Together we highlighted priorities for the Schools White Paper that we hope will help build a whole-school approach to embedding speech and language in learning with additional support for children who need it.

We will continue to work in partnership with our partners in the sector to highlight the importance of speaking and understanding outcomes for children and young people. We look forward to reviewing both the Schools white paper as well as the SEND review when they are finalised and published. Children ‘speak’ in lots of different ways, and we are committed to supporting all children to make sure their voice is heard.

Carol Payne is I CAN’s interim chief executive