Communication and interaction skills are a crucial part of a child's development that underpin their adult lives and success. It has been recognised that early intervention is key in supporting children to overcome any barriers or difficulties and at Bapchild and Tonge all of our pupils - both in Nursery and in Reception - undergo a Wellcomm Screening in Terms 1 and 2. 

A guidance document released by the DfE in 2020 focused on 'Identifying and Supporting Early Language Needs'. This provided a summary of case studies and evidence conducted regarding the assessment, intervention and evaluation of Speech and Language support across various settings. 

This image highlights the steps that are taken by a setting to identify Early Language Needs. We follow this approach with the use of Wellcomm and planned interventions. 

Wellcomm is a language toolkit that can be used with children between 6 months and 11 years of age. An assessment is completed by one of our staff members and it is determined whether a child is showing age appropriate speech and language skills. If a child is identified as needing further support then we will put in a programme of intervention which will be reviewed at regular intervals. Should further support be required, we would ask our Speech and Language Therapist for a more detailed, specialist assessment. More information on Wellcomm can be found via the following link - https://support.gl-education.com/knowledge-base/assessments/wellcomm-support. 

Speech and Language Therapist 

Every week we have a Speech and Language Therapist work with our pupils. She provides 1:1 support, staff training and assessments for children in Nursery to Year Six. Who she works with is determined by our SENCo, after progress meetings with Class Teachers and TAs. Our Therapist offers three levels of intervention; Intensive - weekly sessions, Moderate - fortnightly sessions and Review - termly assessments. As a parent/carer, you will receive a report of every session (via your Class Teacher) with a summary of what was worked on and how you can support at home. 

At Bapchild and Tonge we have a variety of interventions and resources to support any child's Speech and Language needs. Alongside Wellcomm, we also use the NELI programme. This is an oral language programme for our pupils in Key Stage 1. More information can be found on their website - https://oxedandassessment.com/neli/.