Recently, the government published the SEN in England school census reporting that the number of pupils with SEN in England has increased by 77,000 pupils to nearly 1.5 million
It is no surprise that speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) remain the most common type of need for those with SEN support. The data shows that over 300,000 children have speech, language and communication difficulties (a 42% increase since the 2015/16 academic year).
The recent SEND review: Right support, Right place, Right time indicated that an analysis is needed to better understand the support necessary for children and young people with SEN. We hope that the government concludes that schools need the means to be able to identify and support children who have SLCN, beyond EYFS, if they are to begin to close the language gap and help all children and young people, with SLCN, achieve their full potential.
Find out how Speech and Language Link can help identify and support speech and language needs in your school with a free trial.