A significant number of children have not set foot in our schools for months. For some of them, this means they have not interacted closely with anyone other than immediate family for a significant period of time.

The impact of this on children’s emotional wellbeing is well documented, but for children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) - for whom the incidence of poor mental health is generally higher than the general school population - the prospect of returning to school can be a source of huge anxiety.

Schools reopening: Supporting children with speech, language and communication needs

So how can we get it right and support children with SLCN to settle and thrive once our school gates open fully again?

Make the unknown known

The priority has to be ensuring that children are given opportunities and support to reconnect and rebuild relationships with the adults and peers around them. Share with children the timetable of the first week back in advance, presented visually, and try as much as possible to keep things familiar by keeping routines consistent. 

Now is not the time to be introducing a new seating plan. A meet-and-greet in the morning by a trusted adult with a warm welcome and a discussion of what the day entails by talking through the class visual timetable can go some way to alleviating these fears. 

Check in on emotion

All behaviour is communication. When children are worried, unsure and unsettled, this can manifest itself in undesired behaviours such as shouting out, refusing to engage, or coming into conflict with adults and peers. It is also worth mentioning the opposite, that some children with SLCN are happy to fade into the background; they often do not have the language to express how they are feeling. 

Having emotion check-ins can be useful - this can be as simple as children placing lollipop sticks with their names on into tins labelled with different emotions to discreetly express how they are feeling. These can be moved throughout the day as needed. This gives the adults a way of understanding children’s feelings and allows them to offer support at the right time. 

Reduce the level of your demands in the first few days and have a focus on wellbeing. Save the inevitable assessments that will be needed for the time when children will be emotionally ready and feeling more resilient.

Create a communication-friendly classroom

Revisit best practice around what a communication-friendly classroom looks like and make sure you are ready and prepared. Plan to reduce visual and auditory distractions. Strip your displays right back. Have a small number of key vocabulary terms displayed, with accompanying visuals, and be ready to add more as you revisit and start new topics. 

Remember that children with SLCN need many more exposures to words in context to understand and learn them. Do not assume they have understood vocabulary they have encountered during home learning. Revisit, model, repeat often, and add these to working walls. Remember to allow children with SLCN additional processing time and use visuals alongside verbal information. Show, don’t just tell. 

Remember to support attention by explicitly referring to good listening and give specific praise. Gain children’s full attention by prefacing instructions with their name. Remember that these children may not have had to pay sustained attention to a task for a while and so will need time, patience and support. Lastly, do not be in too much of a rush to assess children’s writing. Remember, writing floats on a sea of talk, so have a focus on oracy and get children talking to each other again. The writing will come!

Include social time

Children with SLCN can find unstructured periods, such as break times, difficult as they struggle with taking turns, negotiating, initiating and maintaining conversations, and understanding the rules of games (which often change quickly). These are skills they have not had to use with peers for a while. 

In the first few weeks, consider deploying a higher number of staff or peer mentors outside during break times to provide structured activities and games. This would support the rebuilding of relationships and prevent conflict and emotional breakdowns hampering the settling back in period. Successful interactions with peers can also go a long way to boosting self-esteem and confidence.

Children with SLCN are some of the most vulnerable of our school population, and they deserve nothing less than our full understanding and support. Following these simple steps can go some way to a successful reintegration back into school.

Alexis Doyle is a Sendco and specialist teacher for speech, language and communication needs (SLCN)