Moray Council provides an update on Speech and Language Therapy support for children with complex needs
Moray Council has provided an update on its Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) support for children and young people with complex additional support needs.
The council has had a contract in place with the NHS since 2011, which aims to train staff to help children who are non-verbal and require specialist input.
Currently, SALT supports 40 children from Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) to secondary age who are identified as non-verbal.
Since December 2023, the SALT team has provided targeted support at both Lhanbryde Primary School and Elgin High School, while also providing in-service day training, including at Millbank Primary School.
In term four of this academic year (2023-2024), SALT also offered support to East End Nursery and New Elgin Nursery. Staff feedback has been positive, highlighting the effectiveness of the strategies provided for supporting children with complex needs.
For the new school year (2024-2025), the plan is to offer intensive support at Millbank Primary School, with other schools to be chosen for further help.
Moray Council is also rolling out Boardmarker, a new software tool to help children and young people with their communication, access, and social needs.
Twenty licenses have been distributed across enhanced provision schools. The five-year subscription cost of £12,000 allows for consistent communication support for children from early learning through to secondary school.
The council also plans to use the remaining SALT budget for the CALL (Communication, Access, Literacy and Learning) contract, which supports children and young people with disabilities to overcome barriers to learning, enabling them to reach their full potential.
CALL will deliver a two-year programme to support schools in using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) tools, including training sessions.
Moray Council is also extending the Pupil Support Worker (PSW) post. The PSW will work across early learning, primary, and secondary schools to help create communication friendly environments and develop resources for children with complex needs.
Chair of Moray Council’s Education Children’s and Leisure Services Committee, Cllr Kathleen Robertson, said: “We’re committed to providing comprehensive support for children with complex communication needs across Moray.
“The work done so far has received positive feedback, and we’ll continue to build on this foundation by expanding the tools like Boardmarker and strengthening partnerships with organisations like CALL Scotland.”