Issue 20, Page 18-19: Ask a therapist: Managing your SLCN caseload

QUESTION: “Lots of children in my school need support with their speech and language skills – How can I manage my caseload?”

ANSWER: Managing a large caseload of children is a daunting and unenviable task. Therapists will usually call this ‘prioritisation’: the need to decide how time and resources will be divided fairly so that the needs of all children are met as well as possible. It’s never a perfect science. There is no single right answer. To do the most good with limited resources requires a systematic approach, a long-view, and patience.

The first step towards successfully managing a caseload is identification. Accurate information about the needs of all your pupils is essential for allocating resources so that they will be most effective. While it can be daunting to uncover the scope of the needs in your classroom, especially if you have already identified a large number of children that need support, not looking for children’s difficulties does not mean that they are not there and impacting on learning. Universal screening will give you the information you need to make plans. Once you have identified your pupils’ needs, you can take stock of the resources and time you have, as well as the specialist services which may be available in your area. It’s important to work in partnership with your local services to ensure that the support which is offered to pupils operates efficiently and has the maximum impact.

Next, consider your whole school environment, and classroom support strategies in particular. In-class support needs to be effective so that pupils can make the most of their opportunities in the classroom, and also to reduce the pressure on small group and 1:1 interventions. If large proportions of pupils have identified speech and language needs, consider how aspects of intervention can be embedded into classroom practice alongside the usual curriculum. Ideally, strategies should be consistent between classrooms so that pupils know what to expect. A whole school approach will be more effective.

Keep the intensity of your small group and 1:1 interventions in check. Sessions may not be as effective if they are only scheduled once per week, groups which are too large will mean each pupil has fewer turns, and these watered-down interventions may not be a good use of time. Maintaining the recommended intensity of interventions often means that you will be able to move children along to their next steps more quickly.

With this in mind, it may not be feasible to start all of your pupils off on their interventions at the same time. Consider a rolling timetable for interventions so you can show that your pupils will have equitable access over time. As part of this, make sure to plan for how to move pupils on to generalisation in the classroom. Again, high-quality support in class is essential to minimise the impact of SLCN on learning – this is true whether or not pupils are currently accessing additional interventions.

Remember that speech and language interventions are an investment. It can be difficult to allocate resources and change practice in the beginning, but time invested in addressing underlying difficulties is time saved when those difficulties are resolved.

Managing your SLCN caseload

1. Accurate identification of the needs of all your pupils is essential for allocating resources so that they will be most effective. Universal screening for hidden needs such as language difficulties will give you the information you need to make plans.
2. Investigate and access specialist services where appropriate so that you are making effective use of all of the resources available and maximising the impact of the support that you provide.
3. Put high quality classroom support strategies in place to ensure that pupils with SLCN can make the most of their learning opportunities. Consider how aspects of intervention can be embedded into the classroom alongside the curriculum.
4. Keep in mind the intensity of interventions you are delivering. Maintaining the recommended intensity of interventions will mean they are more likely to be effective and you will be able to move children along more quickly.
5. Schedule a rolling timetable for interventions so that pupils will have equitable access to support across the school year and use this to plan how you will support pupils to generalise the skills they have learnt in interventions within the classroom.