Literacy news
Jean Gross talks about her time so far as Communication Champion
16 Jul 2010
Jean Gross is writing a monthly diary for Bulletin, the official magazine of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, about her time as Communication Champion. In the July diary she says that her “aim is to raise the profile of speech, language and communication and to encourage [children's] trusts to develop a strategy to promote all children’s communication skills and ensure effective support for children who need help.”
So far Jean has met with 20 trusts and finds that those she meets with are interested in the issue and “can see how ‘turning the dial’ on speech, language and communication needs can help them turn the dial on the many issues that concern them.”
She says that she has “been really encouraged by the many examples of good practice in joint health and local authority work in the early years, prompted initially by Sure Start funding and further encouraged by the Every Child a Talker programme and the growth of children’s centres.”
She does mention, though, that she is “less encouraged by the persisting variability in the investment made in speech and language therapy services in PCTs serving similar populations, and the obstacles to joint working presented to professionals on the ground by the different performance management systems for the local authority and the health service.”
Jean closes the article by touching on the subject of her next article; that where speech and language services produce good data about their impact and market their services to schools and local authorities they thrive and grow.
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