DfE announces commitment to earlier speech and language support for children
by Jess Gibson
Up to 20,000 more children are set to benefit from earlier targeted support for speech and language challenges, according to the Department for Education (DfE).
The commitment forms one aspect of the government’s Plan for Change, which aims to ensure every child has the best start in life.
As part of this, the Early Language Support for Every Child (ELSEC) programme, which deploys specialist teams across early years settings and primary schools to help identify and respond to speech and language needs, received ÂŁ3.4 million earlier this year.
The plans follow what the DfE describes as a “rise in the number of children requiring specialist support”, with almost 40,000 children waiting over 12 weeks for speech and language therapy since June 2024.
Minister for school standards Catherine McKinnell said: “When challenges with speech and language go unnoticed, it can have a devastating impact on children’s attainment, attendance, social abilities and future life chances.
“ELSEC is turning this around for so many pupils – and particularly those with SEND – helping them find their voice and thrive at school, and with their friends and family.
“This type of approach is exactly what we want to see in a reformed SEND system that delivers the support children need at the earliest stage and restores parents’ trust in a system that has let them down for too long.”