Assessment & Identification

The standardised online assessment is used to universally screen students at transition with additional tracking of any young person where intervention was recommended.

The content reflects the typical daily demands for young people to understand and use language both in the classroom and in conversation with peers. It is delivered to groups of students and is fully audio supported, placing minimal demand on literacy skills.

The assessment utilises a number of formats including video, and interactive virtual classroom and multiple choice questions, making this an engaging experience. It divides into two areas. Core Language looks at following instructions, processing information and understanding of concept vocabulary and complex sentences. Social Understanding focuses on understanding multiple meaning, sarcasm, idiomatic language and making inferences.

Following assessment, individual profiles and class reports identify areas of strength and need, enabling senior leaders to set targets and develop action plans to address barriers to learning across the school.

The Secondary Language Link assessment was standardised working with the University of Cambridge Psychometrics Centre

Intervention

Secondary Language Link promotes universal and targeted support. Our unique Communication Contracts enable students to take responsibility for their own learning, promoting self-advocacy and independence. Students and subject teachers use the identified strategies from the contract during whole class teaching.

Our targeted and resourced immersive groups utilise a video-based format which includes instruction from speech and language therapists making delivery easy, even for inexperienced staff members. These innovative groups have been designed with student engagement in mind. An exciting real-life adventure format encourages students to work together to solve puzzles and problems.

There are 7 different groups to choose from to develop your students’ problem solving, language and functional communication. Our Aim High Group provides a unique transition experience where students take on the roles of senior leaders, completing puzzles and making decisions to ensure the smooth running of the school.

In-Package Training and Support

The annual subscription includes online training for staff. Our SLCN Toolkit is a teacher training resource which examines key aspects of teaching that will support the learning and achievement of students with SLCN and those new to English. Suitable for all subject teachers, it promotes inclusion across the curriculum and can be added to staff CPD programmes.

Delivered in two modules the toolkit promotes the understanding of SLCN and empowers teachers to make effective adjustments to promote inclusive, communication-friendly classrooms.

We also include a series of accessible user guides, to walk your staff through every aspect of using the package from set up to administering the assessment and running interventions, as well as interpreting reports and measuring progress. There are lots of on page how to guides and our friendly Help Desk team are only a phone call or email way.

Our speech and language therapy team deliver regular webinar overviews offering staff the chance to ask our experts questions. They are also available for unlimited support throughout your subscription via our Speech & Language Link Help Desk

Data & Measuring Progress

Secondary Language Link includes a range of built-in progress measures enabling you to track the impact of interventions on each of your student’s language and communication skills.

Our reports provide you with clear data on the number of students in a year group or key stage with difficulties and chart improvement following intervention. They also give teachers the information needed to differentiate teaching and to provide a high-quality, inclusive learning environment.

The impact of interventions is measured through pre- and post-intervention ‘Skills Check’ tests, along with evaluated tracked tasks during each session and the students’ own reflections on their learning. These evaluations feed into long-term strategies for communication and learning which students develop with your support.

Using Secondary Language Link with multilingual students

Secondary Language Link can be easily adapted for use with multilingual young people. The standardised assessment will show how well your students are understanding English in comparison to English speaking young person of the same age. For those who are just beginning to learn English the assessment will identify areas for development.

Our reports and provision maps clearly show where a student is identified as an English learner, allowing progress to be tracked across terms and years.

We always recommend that students new to English work alongside young people who can provide good models of language to aid language acquisition. All our language groups and can be used with groups or individual children to encourage the development of spoken and social use of English.