Around 1 in 10 children and young people are affected by long-term and persistent speech, language, and communication needs (Public Health England, 2020). However, research suggests that as many as 40% of young people with SLCN are going unidentified (Communication Trust, 2014).

Furthermore, 8 in 10 children with emotional and behaviour disorders have unidentified language difficulties (Hollo et al, 2014).

The impact on education is clear: Just 15% of pupils with identified SLCN achieve the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics in year 6 (compared with 61% of all pupils) and just 20% of pupils with SLCN get a grade 4 or above in English and maths at GCSE (compared with 63.9% of all pupils) (ICAN & RCSLT, 2018).

Some SLCN are short term and can be addressed through effective early intervention. Others are more permanent and will remain with a person throughout their childhood and adult life.

In this webinar for teachers and school leaders working in both the primary and secondary phases our expert panel will discuss the barriers to education and social development that SLCN create and how we can help our pupils to overcome these.

We will discuss the prevalence of SLCN, especially since Covid, and the extent to which these needs go unidentified and undiagnosed.

We will discuss how teachers and school staff can spot the signs of unidentified SLCN and what steps we can take to support our pupils.

The webinar will feature case studies from a primary and a secondary school, looking in depth at the work they do to identify and support SLCN and what lessons they have learned along the way.

The webinar will include an audience Q&A and the session will also be available afterwards to watch on catch-up.