Integrated Conception to 5 Speech, Language and Communication Framework
Communication is the most significant life skill, yet 1.4 million children have a speech, language and communication need. Children with these speech, language and communication needs may have trouble communicating but also there may be children who have underlying difficulties with understanding, attention, listening and interacting with others. ​
Northumbria Healthcare Children's Speech and Language Therapy
Our speech and language therapy service can support children and young people from birth to 19 who have speech, language or communication needs or difficulties with eating, drinking or swallowing.
Developing communication and language skills
​Some children have speech, language and communication needs (SLCN), others may be a little late in developing their skills, and some children have no identified needs, but all children will benefit from the support we are able to provide.
Working in partnership to support families
Leading practitioners from a range of disciplines have come together to develop a comprehensive Speech, Language and Communication Framework for Northumberland.
This framework aligns the work of a number of services, including:
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health services
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speech and language services
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early help services
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early years
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education services
The Northumberland Integrated Speech, Language and Communication Framework​ is split into key age groups to ensure support is tailored to suit the developing needs of each child.
Our focus is on early identification of need to ensure additional or specialist support is prioritised for those children who need it.
Services will collectively support you to help your child to develop their language and communication skills by:
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following your child’s lead
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responding to all communication attempts
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being face-to-face in interactions as much as possible
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expanding the child’s language at their level ​
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playing, sharing books and having fun incorporating language experiences into everyday activities ​
Support available
Our priority is to ensure every child becomes a successful communicator.
Every Child's Entitlement​
Guaranteed provision for every child is ensured through an integrated approach involving Early Years and Schools, Health teams, Early Help 0-19 Services and Library Services providing high quality adult interaction and language rich environments wherever the child is. Together, they actively promote key messages in relation to supporting speech, language and communication wherever the child is.
Targeted support​
Extra Help is offered to children where there is a concern around their speech, language and communication and/or where there is the potential for gaps to appear. This extra support is in addition to ‘Every Child's Entitlement'.​
Specialist support​
Specialist services are provided for children with significant speech, language and communication needs and/or where needs remain despite targeted support being provided. This specialist support is in addition to ‘Every Child's Entitlement' and may run alongside targeted support.​
For more information
