At Meath Green Junior School we aim to support pupils to overcome any barriers to their learning and development that may be impacted by poor communication skills.

Communication is the ability to say the appropriate thing at the right time and in the right way. This involves using speech and language skills to send messages to others. It is made up of three main elements:

Language – the ability to understand words and sentences so that we can follow what is being said to us. It involves organising our thoughts and ideas, using the appropriate vocabulary in context and forming grammatically correct sentences (ready for talking).

Speech - the ability to combine sounds together to say words.

Non-verbal communication (NVC) - is the ability to understand and use gesture, body language, facial expression and voice to communicate messages.

Speech, Language and Communication Need (SLCN) encompasses difficulties children may experience with all of these areas of communication. Some children may only have difficulties in one area, whilst others may have problems in all three.

At MGJS we have staff who have been trained in ELKLAN speech and language support - Mrs Budd, our Speech and Language Lead and Mrs Ingram. They both work in conjunction with Surrey County Council Speech and Language Therapists and are able to assist with a range of speech, language and communication difficulties.

Their aim is to remove the barriers to learning and to improve pupils’ communication skills and understanding of spoken and written language.

Referrals are made by staff if they feel support is needed following observation or assessment. A speech and Language report is usually included in any Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) so pupils will regularly have sessions if an EHCP is in place. If you have any concerns over your child’s speech and language, please speak to your class teacher or the SENCO, Mrs Sarah Covell, who can be contacted by phoning the school office or email senco@mgjs.org (which is a secure and private email address).

Visit https://speechandlanguage.info/parents for lots of speech and language resources, advice and tips for parents working with their children who have Speech, Language and Communication Needs.