Urgent action must be taken by all political parties to address the “ongoing impact of the pandemic on children’s speech, language and communication development”, a new coalition has said.
And it has urged the next government to support teachers and schools to develop their pupils’ spoken language and communication.
The call for parties to include targeted support on speech and language development in their election manifestos comes in the same week that new data from NHS England revealed a hike, in December, in the number of children and young people waiting for speech and language therapy.
The Let’s Talk Communication Coalition has this week written to the prime minister, as well as the Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and the leader of the Liberal Democrats Sir Ed Davey, warning that the party that forms the next government “must address the fact that children and young people are now more likely than ever to have spoken language and communication challenges”.
The coalition, made up of more than 50 organisations, including the teaching union NASUWT, also warns that alongside this increase in challenges, young people are having “even greater problems” getting the help and support they need.
New data published today reveals that the number of children and young people on the NHS waiting list for speech and language therapy rose to more than 72,000 last month, up from 66,800 in November.
Speaking on behalf of the Let’s Talk Communication Coalition, Derek Munn, director of policy and public affairs at the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, said: “Spoken language and communication is central to children and young people’s educational attainment and life chances, and the matter is urgent.”
“Whichever party forms the next government must ensure that the impact of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis on children and young people’s education is addressed through supporting good spoken language and communication skills for all,” he added.
When schools fully reopened after the pandemic, settings increasingly reported concerns around a lack of school readiness in the youngest pupils, with a report published last year claiming that nearly half of children starting school were unable to eat independently, use the toilet or communicate clearly.
Robin Walker, the former schools minister, previously warned that spending more on early years provision would tackle the issue of primary-age pupils not being school ready “more effectively than catch-up funding spent in the school years”.
Data published in November revealed that the proportion of four- and five-year-olds judged to have reached expected levels of learning at the end of Reception remains low compared with pre-pandemic levels.
The coalition has warned that if the country fails to address the problems facing young people, too many “will not be able to live up to their potential”.
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