Children are starting education in Scotland unable to speak properly, with nine in ten early years staff seeing an increase in pupils with communication difficulties.
Therapists say that stress in society from the pandemic and the cost of living crisis is causing delayed development of language skills in an “alarming number” of children.
After a rise during the pandemic, the number of children with speech or language difficulties has remained at a high level, according to the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT).
A survey by the college found that 89 per cent of nursery staff had noticed an increase in the prevalence of complex communication needs.
