I loved going to school.

I was perhaps one of the few students who would openly admit it and yes, I know, it really does speak volumes about the type of child I was (if you need any further evidence, I was also the kid who, over 2 years, borrowed the entire sci-fi section of the library). Looking back at this, there were various reasons why I enjoyed school so much. I got the chance to participate in ‘really cool’ physics experiments (the van der Graaf generator was a major highlight). My grades were pretty good, and I felt chuffed to get “well done” stamps on the top of my homework. And surprisingly (maybe mostly for me), I had quite a few loyal friends and tended to get on with most people pretty well.

So yes, my school experience itself was routinely pleasant and one I looked forward to. But of course, not everyone feels the same. School enjoyment depends hugely on whether or not you ‘fit in’. Some children sit in fear of school bullies waiting for them at break, their solitude in the playground reinforcing painful feelings of being an outsider. The recurring sinking sensation they would get whenever asked a question, given a task or returned their homework. These are the children who may start by wavering at the gate and eventually become those who plainly refuse to leave home to go to school on a Monday morning. For some children, difficulties can gradually erode their connection with school and, over time, this can affect both wellbeing and attendance. Unfortunately, pupils with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) are more likely to be at risk of persistent and severe absence (RCSLT, 2023).

So, why is this?  A major reason is that being good at talking and understanding spoken language is the backbone of a multitude of things which support engagement and quality of school life. In more detail, here they are:

How strong speech and language foundations can lead to positive school experiences:

  1. Forming and maintaining friendships: robust speech, language and communication skills enable children to form meaningful peer relationships. This will reduce isolation and increasing a sense of belonging.
  2. Getting adequate support from staff: a student with sufficient vocabulary, good sentence structure and can use clear speech can express their thoughts, feelings and needs to others. They will be able to advocate for themselves and seek support from school staff when needed.
  3. Participation in classroom activities: students who can keep up with the language used in the classroom, the pace of the lesson and have strong language skills are more likely to follow what is being asked of them and engage in classroom discussions including conversations with peers.
  4. Academic success: there is a strong link between verbal language skills and academic achievement. Being considered ‘smart’ and feeling capable, can feed positively into a student’s self-esteem and identity.
  5. Feeling good emotionally: students with better language skills and a wider emotional vocabulary are more able to understand their emotions, label them and express how they feel. This means that they are more likely to be understood and are more likely to have their emotional needs met.

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Six practical speech and language tips on how to encourage positive school experiences from a speech and language therapist:  

  1. Screening – it’s so important to identify students with speech and language difficulties, as this can help find those at risk of having negative experiences within the school environment, which may consequently lead to school refusal. Using our Speech Link or Language Link packages can not only help to flag up those that may be struggling but also provide interventions to support these students.
  2. Ensure that staff, especially those in the pastoral team, can communicate well with those that have SLCN – training staff on understanding and supporting speech and language needs, especially those ones that students are likely to turn to for classroom and emotional support, can help staff to communicate well and understand these pupils. It is also important for your senior leadership team to understand the impact of SLCN on school experience and attendance so that they can prioritise provision for this population.
  3. Use classroom strategies to support understanding and boost speech and language to reduce that “sinking sensation” – use of High Quality Teaching Strategies are really important to ensure that your lessons are inclusive for all, and can boost and deepen understanding for all students. Allowing time to think, using visuals and ensuring you are clear with your communication, for example, are important.
  4. Make them feel accepted and encourage students to self-advocate – we want students to feel comfortable to be themselves within the setting. How do we make it feel safe? Encourage all forms of communication. Encourage your students to ask any questions if they are unsure of what you are saying. You can say, “I’m so glad you asked, thank you!”, when they ask. Providing RAG ratings, that students can point to showing their understanding could be useful, especially for those who want more discreet support.
  5. Give students useful vocabulary – lots of work around growth mindset vocabulary is very useful – words such as “resilience”, “courage”, “strong”, “challenge”, “effort”, even “yet” can support positive self-talk. Teach a range of emotional vocabulary, to help children label their feelings.
  6. Support language and communication skills to initiate and maintain friendships – teaching how to ask questions to peers and modelling compliments are some good ways of building friendship skills. Working on verbal reasoning skills (e.g., how does he feel? What does she mean when she said that?) can support a student’s understanding of other’s perspectives.

To sum, it is so important that we consider good speech and language skills as some of the building blocks to good attendance at school. We all want our students to have good experiences, this will help them to feel safe and learn. Supporting speech and language skills can definitely help children walk more confidently through the school gates and enhance their experience of school.

Good attendance begins with children feeling included and able to succeed. Discover how our award-winning Speech Link and Language Link packages can help your school identify speech and language needs early, provide effective support and create an inclusive environment where every child can engage and feel understood: https://speechandlanguage.link/our-packages/

 

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