Specialist teams to tackle post-pandemic school speech therapy backlog

The Government will deploy specialist teams to primary schools to tackle the backlog of children waiting for speech and language therapy since the pandemic.

It is hoped earlier targeted support will help those who struggle to talk and understand words before problems escalate.

More than 40,000 children had been waiting 12 weeks or more for speech and language therapy as of June 2024, the Department for Education said.

A lack of early identification can have a devastating impact on children’s social skills, attendance, and academic performance.

The Government has backed the Early Language Support for Every Child (Elsec) programme with £3.4 million funding this year, which it said will benefit up to 20,000 more children.

Early intervention is particularly important for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send), as numbers have skyrocketed from 1.3 million in 2020 to 1.67 million in 2024 – with one in four of these children requiring extra help with speech and language.

Minister for School Standards Catherine McKinnell said: “When challenges with speech and language go unnoticed, it can have a devastating impact on children’s attainment, attendance, social abilities and future life chances.

“Elsec is turning this around for so many pupils – and particularly those with Send – helping them find their voice and thrive at school and with their friends and family.

“This type of approach is exactly what we want to see in a reformed Send system that delivers the support children need at the earliest stage and restores parents’ trust in a system which has let them down for too long.”

Steve Jamieson, chief executive of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, said: “We’re delighted that the Department for Education and NHS England will fund the Early Language Support for Every Child programme until March 2026.

“It has shown that when speech and language therapists, therapy support workers and education staff work together, they can identify children’s needs earlier and put timely support in place.”