Within the letter, the coalition, which is led by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, the National Deaf Children’s Society, Speech and Language UK, and Voice 21, says that ‘long-term investment is needed now to plug gaps in the specialist workforce supporting children in schools.’
Without action, they warn that children and young people, including those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are at increased risk of poorer educational outcomes.
In the letter, the coalition, which includes charities, professional bodies and associations, trade unions and parent and carer organisations, highlight a series of inadequacies in the specialist support children and young people can access.
According to the coalition, the need for specialists for children with SEND and disabilities is increasing, but there are insufficient numbers being trained to meet such demand. On top of this, many specialists are failing to retrain, with high numbers leaving the workforce permanently.
The letter lists 31 positions within the specialist workforce including:
- Early Years SENCo
- Play therapists
- Parenting coaches
- Education audiologists
- Dieticians
- Family workers
- Orthoptists
- Post-natal support
They go on to say that the lack of professionals, such as teachers of the deaf, speech and language therapists, and educational psychologists, is having a knock-on effect on children, young people and families, with parents reporting that services are at ‘crisis point’, leading to ‘catastrophic’ impacts on children’s education, mental health and wellbeing, home and social life, employment prospects and life chances.
The coalition is calling on the Government to clearly set out how its much-anticipated response to the SEND Green Paper will address this ‘widening access crisis.’
The open letter has been signed by 114 organisations, including Guide Dogs, the National Autistic Society, RNIB and Young Minds.
CASE STUDY
Herminia, whose son Marshall, age seven, was born partially deaf, said, ‘Specialist support has been crucial for Marshall’s development, and I don’t know what we would have done without it. It’s been the difference in helping him to reach his full potential. Because he has to work so much harder to concentrate, if adjustments weren’t made to his environment, I think he would have started to fall behind.
‘At pre-school, Marshall socially struggled to make friends and couldn’t get involved in all the different conversations going on. The Teacher of the Deaf helped with this so that the staff could help him socialise with other children, he learnt to have one friend, to then two and more.
‘His current school has always been so good and accommodating, and very open and willing, asking me what would be helpful. Staff have been great with making adjustments to the classroom, such as where he sits, attending training and learning how to use the radio aid with him.
‘I worry what would happen if the specialist support he receives was ever taken away. I know not all children have access to it, so it feels like a real postcode lottery.’
'The new Government needs to take urgent action'
Kamini Gadhok, chief executive of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, said, ‘Across the country, speech and language therapists transform children and young people’s lives every day by supporting them with their communication needs. However, there are simply not enough to meet the demand for their services and this has been made worse by the pandemic.
‘We urge the Government to use its forthcoming response to the SEND Green Paper and address this crisis by investing in and planning for a specialist workforce that supports the communication needs of children and young people to give them the best start in life.’
Jane Harris, Speech and Language UK chief executive, added, ‘The new Government needs to take urgent action to train teachers better and train more specialist therapists so that children with short and long-term speech and language challenges can get the help they need.’