Early years and Schools

The Speech and Language Therapy Service works in three teams: the pre-school team, the mainstream schools team and the special schools team.

Pre-school children

Pre-school children referred to the Speech and Language Therapy Service are seen for an initial appointment in the clinic setting. On receiving a referral, families are invited to phone in to make an appointment at a convenient time and clinic.

Initial appointments are 30 minutes long and enable families to discuss with the therapist what sort of difficulties, if any, the child may have, and whether further input from the Speech and Language Therapy Service is required.

• What to expect from a Speech and language therapy triage appointment (Resource Library)

The role of the therapist is to work in partnership with parents, nursery staff and other professionals to help children develop their communication skills to the best of their ability, and reach their potential both educationally and socially. Your child will be added to the waiting list for further assessment and support from one of our Speech and Language Therapy pathways below (as discussed at the appointment):

• Playing Together pathway
• Parent and Child Interaction (PCI) pathway
• Language and Speech-sounds Group pathway
• Nursery pathway

Speech and language therapists also offer a service to families whose children are not formally referred. Drop-in clinics and Talking Toddler groups run throughout the city.

• Talking Toddlers

For further information contact bev.charles@nhs.net or dana.welch@nhs.net.

Children in mainstream primary schools

Primary aged children referred to the Speech and Language Therapy Service are usually seen within the school setting.

The therapist works in partnership with parents, teachers and other professionals to help children develop their communication skills to the best of their ability, and reach their potential both educationally and socially.

For some children, particularly those with speech sound difficulties, this may involve weekly sessions for a period of time. For other children, input may be at the level of working with parents and professionals to set appropriate goals and monitor progress.

For further information contact alice.woods@nhs.net or tendacott@nhs.net

Young people in mainstream secondary schools

Secondary aged young people referred to the Speech and Language Therapy Service are usually seen within the school setting.

As with primary aged children, the role of the therapist is to work in partnership with parents, teachers and other professionals to help individuals develop their communication skills to the best of their ability, and reach their potential both educationally and socially.

At secondary school, intervention mainly takes the form of training and advice to ensure that school staff are able to support students in mainstream lessons and social activities.

Some young people with speech sound difficulties will be offered clinic appointments to work with therapists on developing their sounds.

For further information contact scn-tr.slt-sheffield@nhs.net.

Children in specialist schools and integrated resources

From September 2023, children and young people in specialist schools and integrated resources will access the Speech and Language Therapy Service through episodes of care. This means they will be open to us when they need specific support, but closed during times when their needs can be met by the support in place in school and at home. The links below explain how the Speech and Language Therapy service will work with children or young people throughout their time at school. We work closely with schools and parents/carers to give you the skills to help the child or young person’s communication across all parts of their life.

• Speech and language therapy provision in specialists schools and integrated resources – information for parents
• Speech and language therapy provision in specialists schools and integrated resources – information for schools

For further information contact Sally Twigg.