Children's Speech & Language Therapy

EPUT Children’s SLT Service want to ensure that every child has every opportunity to develop and achieve in a fun, safe and stimulating environment. The development of functional and effective communication skills is a key objective to achieve this in partnership with parents/carers, young people and schools/settings. Children who have good communication skills have improved life chances and choices which enable them to lead fulfilling lives throughout their childhood and into adulthood.

EPUT Children’s Speech and Language Therapy Service has adopted The Balanced System™ framework as it offers a practical solution to meeting the needs of children and young people with Speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). The framework provides a suite of tools to support the development of a whole system approach to supporting the development of speech, language and communication skills in the population. This includes timely identification, supporting the workforce, including schools and preschool settings, supporting parents/carers, ensuring all environments are conducive to supporting SLCN, appropriate and evidence based assessment and intervention by those best placed to support that child or young person. The Balanced System's framework for effective support and outcomes runs through all aspects of the service’s design and pathways.

EPUT Children’s Speech and Language Therapy Service provides assessment, advice, direct and indirect interventions for children and young people with speech, language and communication delay/disorders and/or feeding and swallowing difficulties.

We considers the role of parents, carers and other significant people to be vital in maximising effective communication. Much work is therefore concerned with working to improve communicative ability by training and supporting those in the person’s communicative environment.

The Service aims to work using the following core foundations to our delivery in line with the The Balanced System™ framework;

• Universal information, advice and guidance to all schools, settings and parents/carers to support speech, language and communication development is available from our service in a variety of formats to support concerns about speech, language and/or communication at a pre referral level and targeted level
• There is clarity around provision, access to provision and pathways at all levels of need (all our care pathways are available to the public to download and read)
• Specialist speech and language therapy services are available according to evidenced need. The service uses the Malcomess Care Aims Framework as an outcome measurement and reflection tool for clinical decision making and joint setting of agreed outcomes/aspirations with parents/carers, children/young people and those most proximal to the child/young person and therefore most likely to effect a change.
• The service provides seamless intervention and support at the earliest opportunity and in the most appropriate environment. We are developing a link speech and language therapist model for every school to provide closer liaison and support
• Parents and carers receive support and advice and are practically involved throughout their contact with the service
• Service users, families and carers have an opportunity to participate in the feedback and improvement to service development
• Training and development opportunities are provided to ensure that the whole workforce is able to identify need at the earliest opportunity and support children

Visit The Balanced System™ website for more information about the framework, tools available for commissioners, providers and schools and support available from Marie Gascoigne. 

Where the service is based

EPUT Children’s Speech and Language Therapy service has an administration base at Hadleigh Clinic. Clinical services are run from nine different locations across South East Essex.

Please ask for a referral from one of the following:

For pre-school children: a healthcare professional (e.g. hospital consultant, GP, health visitor) via a completed referral form, or a written report.

For school aged children: via a completed school aged referral form.

	Please help us to continue to improve our service by leaving feedback about the Children’s Speech and Language Therapy Team using the website link http://an.iwgc.link/dsa5s or the QR code.
	Follow us on Facebook for more tips and advice.