A Generation Adrift? The crucial importance of communication for children and young people

1. A Generation Adrift?The crucial importance of communication for children and young people Lisa Morgan Professional Director – The Communication Trust ASCEL conference – November 2013

2. The Communication Trust

3. Vision Our vision is that every child and young person is enabled to communicate to the very best of their ability

4. What are speech, language and communication? We put together what we hear, and UNDERSTAND We plan and organise what we will say We use words to share meaning - TALKING We hear, attend and listen We make and use sounds to form words - SPEECH Using language to interact with other people – COMMUNICATION We have to want, need and be confident to communicate

5. How do children develop their speech, language and communication skills?

6. It’s not who you are, it’s what you do Avon Longitudinal Study: What the mother: • did (in terms of activities and interaction with her child), • had (in terms of resources) and • felt (in terms of feeling supported and sense of wellbeing) in the first two years of her child’s life was shown to be important in children’s performance at 5 years.

7. What makes a difference? • The children’s communication environment influences language development. • The child’s language and communication environment influence performance at school entry • Important predictors of expressive vocabulary at 2: • Number of books available to the child • Frequency of visits to the library • parents teaching a range of activities • number of toys available

8. Good spoken language skills – vocabulary and oral narrative • Strong predictors of later academic success • Start a virtuous circle with reading

9. Speech, language and communication are foundation skills EnjoymentAchievementAttainment Literacy Learning Social & Emotional Speech Language& Communication

10. Speech, language and communication and you! • How can library services support the development of these skills? • Why is it brilliant for library services to support these skills...?

11. Context In some areas of deprivation, more than 50% of children start school with delayed speech, language and communication skills.

12. 10% of all children and young people have long term, persistent Speech, Language and Communication Needs

13. Poor communication skills impact on... Mental health Behaviour/vulnerability Educational achievement 40% of 7 to 14 year olds referred to child psychiatric services had a language impairment that had never been suspected • 13% of pupils with SLCN gain 5 ‘good’ GCSEs compared to • 59% of pupils who don’t have SLCN 2/3 of 7-14 year olds with serious behaviour problems have language impairment Literacy Disadvantage Cycle Employability Children from low income families lag behind high income counterparts by over a year in vocabulary at school entry 90% of children with SLCN go on to have reading difficulties 47% of employers say they can’t get recruits with the communication skills they need

14. When virtuous becomes vicious....

15. The Effects Poor Language on Reading Comprehension 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 High Oral Language in Kindergarten 5.2 years difference Reading Age Level Low Oral Language in Kindergarten 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Chronological Age

16. And the good news... • Early identification and intervention works • Developing understanding of spoken language shown to support reading comprehension • Children from poorer backgrounds who develop good language skills are more likely to ‘buck the trend’

17. Speech, language and communication and you! • How can library services support the development of these skills? • Why is it brilliant for library services to support these skills...?

18. To find out more.... • www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk • Free resources, information, updates... • Why not find out if your local schools are doing the Communication Commitment?