Addressing Speech and Language delays at school

Head of Chapter House and Queen’s Kindergarten, Karen Kilkenny, explains what her school is doing to combat speech and language delays post Covid-19.

The area of speech and language is at the forefront of many of our parent’s and prospective parent’s minds. We have parents coming to us on Open Days saying that the NHS waiting lists for a Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) referral was at an estimated 18 months, with one family saying that our SEND support came recommended by a local therapist, which was a lovely surprise.

The parent concerns are backed by a report from June 2024 that stated the NHS had 22,952 children waiting 19 to 52 weeks for a SLT appointment, with 5,832 children still waiting after a year. In addition, a survey conducted by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) resulted in 77% of SLTs reporting an increased demand on their service since the pandemic.

Aware of the rising need for speech and language support in schools, QE appointed our own Speech and Language Therapist, Sarah Semple, to work face-to-face with our children in both one-to-one and small group sessions. Sarah has been gladly welcomed by our parents and works seamlessly with our specialist Learning Development Coordinator, Sam Wise. Together they recently hosted a free Communication Workshop for parents and prospective parents that provided information and activities to do at home, all based on improving speech and language skills. 

For us, it was an easy decision to add a SaLT to our Learning Development (SEND) team because we wanted our pupils and prospective students to be offered the support they require, as soon as the need is identified, so that any potential impact to a child’s confidence, social interactions, or ability to perform well at school was minimised. Sarah describes her first year of working with Chapter House “It is so lovely to be working in a role where I can identify needs early and see support throughout a child’s education in QE. Being in school means I can work closely with teachers and parents and those relationships are so important for children to meet their full potential.” When a child joins Chapter House, they are assessed and if they are identified as having a specific learning need, we create an Individual Learning Plan (ILP) for them to tailor the support they receive. This support ranges from an individual lessons or small group booster sessions, by learning support specialists, and adaptive teaching within the classroom. Gifted and Talented children are identified and challenged through accelerated learning clubs or talent-focused enrichment clubs.

Chapter House is a small family-feel school that aims to keep its class sizes small so that children have up to 50% more teacher contact time than if they were in larger classes. We also pride ourselves on parent communication through a mixture of parent meetings, visits to classrooms and reports throughout the term, in addition to daily updates on Tapestry for the EYFS children.

Safely nestled within the 220-acre campus of Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate, Chapter House Prep School and Queen’s Kindergarten provide a home from home for children ages 3 months to Year 5. At the school, students take on the role of explorers, learning through imaginative play, outdoor learning and inspiring lessons. It creates the perfect environment for pupils to make outstanding progress, wherever their strengths and abilities lie.

Contact us

To find out more, attend the 7th June Open Morning or book a private tour at admissions@qe.org.