News
Nottinghamshire’s Language for Life strategy
18 May 2010
Nottinghamshire’s Language for Life strategy is taking shape, recognising the vital role played by parents in the development of their child’s communication. The multi-agency approach is led by a partnership between speech and language therapists, the inclusion support service, the early years adviser, early years workforce development team and the children’s centre Enjoy and Achieve lead. The strategy is supported by family support and play and early learning teams in children’s services and a wide range of practitioners across education and health, including librarians and officers responsible for Bookstart. The work includes the training of health visitors, linked to the Healthy Child Programme, which ensures a two-year check to identify children who may be at risk of language delay.
A key aspect is to support parents so that they are able to give the most appropriate level of support to their child’s language, with the aid of the children’s centre Home Talk worker who can offer a six-week home visiting programme. In addition, the children’s centre’s speech and language service works with children from birth to five in children’s homes, with childminders, in settings and nurseries. A training development working group is ensuring that training is available across Nottinghamshire, at universal and enhanced levels, and a collaborative practice working group is addressing issues around consistency. A conference will be held in March 2011.
In addition, the New Arrivals Team of the Ethnicity, Culture and Achievement Service has put together English as an additional language resource boxes. Each of the 60 children’s centres will receive one of these boxes and private, voluntary and independent settings will access the resource box in their nearest children’s centre. Sample TTYB leaflets are included in each box. Practitioners had an opportunity to become familiar with the contents and applications at launches across the authority.
