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This week, we submitted our response to the Government’s proposed SEND Reforms, urging the Government to ensure these reforms will deliver for pupils who stammer. In this article, our CEO, Ria Bernard, reflects on the impact of these proposals for children and young people who stammer.
At Action for Stammering Children, we work to influence public policy and societal attitudes in order to bring about a more inclusive society for children and young people who stammer, and to ensure that the needs of children who stammer are recognised and addressed in public policy. Alongside the practical initiatives and evidenced-based resources we offer, we seek to bring about systemic change that ensures that every child and every family can access effective support.
We recognise the varying and diverse impact of stammering on children’s development and long-term outcomes. For many children and young people who stammer, implementing classroom strategies that promote participation in class discussions, simple modifications to classroom activities and reasonable adjustments in assessments can make all the difference. Proactive efforts to challenge misconceptions and raise awareness about the impact of stammering, especially amongst peers, cultivates an inclusive school community in which pupils feel supported. For others, specialist support from speech and language therapy helps children build confidence in their communication, develop resilience and learn strategies that they find beneficial.
Whatever that support looks like, we believe there should be equality of access to it and that families shouldn’t face barriers due to where they live, the school they go to or their personal circumstances.
The Government’s reforms aim to “ensure an inclusive education for all children” and are underscored by five key principles, all of which resonate with our own strategic priorities. On the whole, we welcome the Government’s proposals to deliver a genuinely inclusive mainstream education and reform the support system for children with SEND.
Nevertheless, we are concerned that pupils who stammer may be overlooked and their needs unrecognised in this new system owing to a lack of understanding about stammering and uncertainty over what some of the proposals will actually mean in practice. We know that public awareness about stammering is relatively poor and that stammering is too often misunderstood by those who have no experience of it. The broader impact on children’s social and emotional development, and wellbeing, can mean that many young people are unable to take advantage of the same opportunities as their peers and may curb their aspirations. Misunderstanding of the complexities of stammering mean that their needs might not be recognised and appropriate support not forthcoming.
In response, we have sought clarification from the Government about what support would look like for pupils who stammer, particularly under the Universal Offer. It will be essential that children who stammer have access to specialist expertise delivered by speech and language therapists.
In advance of the present consultation deadline, we met with our colleagues in the SEND in the Specialists Coalition to share reflections and inform a joint submission. Interestingly, while each organisation may represent children and young people with diverse needs, difficulties and differences, similar points were raised by organisations as we reflected on the reforms.
Our own submission is informed by the work we do with the ASC community, our research pertaining to access to specialist support for stammering, and development of evidence-based resources that we have created to support educators and families.
Children spend the majority of their time in school and so it is essential that those professionals working with these children have the knowledge and resources to effectively support them. Our resources aim to empower educators and provide the practical tools they need to cultivate inclusive classroom environments in which pupils who stammer can thrive. Improving understanding of stammering also helps to ensure that these children get access to the specialist support they need, where appropriate. We don’t expect education professionals to diagnose or provide therapy! Instead we provide the insight and details to signpost onto local services and organisations with the expertise to help. This is what we’d like to see:
We know how important early support for stammering is and that’s why we’re pleased to see this is one of the key principles of the SEND reforms. However, early support requires all those working with the child to recognise when that child might need more support, and be aware of where to find that support. The ASC Stammering Support Hub aims to do just that – providing evidenced-based information, signposting and tailored support to families, professionals and young people. We are advocating for the Stammering Support Hub to be shared with families via local authorities, Best Start Family Hubs, Early Years’ providers, GPs and health visitors.
The Government says “The Universal offer will set a new baseline for mainstream education settings for children and young people aged 0-25”. This includes a commitment to evidence-based support, inclusive environments and embedding inclusion in planning. To support schools in delivering the universal offer we have urged the Department for Education to commit to rolling out the Stammer Awareness Toolkit to every school, and to proactively engage third sector organisations in supporting schools in delivery of the universal offer.
Access to specialist speech and language therapy for stammering differs across the country. We want to see investment in speech and language therapists to make sure there is sufficient workforce capacity and opportunities to specialise in working with stammering. The commitment to invest in a new Experts at Hand Service, which would include funding of speech and language therapists in schools, is welcome. At present, we are unclear as to what level of support the Experts at Hand Service is associated with. That’s why we urged the Government to commit:
We’ll be sharing updates about the consultation in the coming months. If you’d like to stay up to date about the work we’re doing to bring about positive change through our campaigns and policy work, sign up to our mailing list.
You can find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about stammering by taking a look at our Support Hub Knowledge Articles
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