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Wyvern School

 Speech and Language Therapy

Who Are We?

At The Wyvern School we have an in-house Speech and Language Therapy team consisting of a Speech and Language Therapist and a Speech and Language Therapy Assistant.

In addition to the school’s team, the school has an NHS Link Speech and Language Therapist employed by the East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust (EKHUFT), who they liaise closely with. EKHUFT are working with us to establish the Balanced System® approach to meet the speech, language and communication needs of all children.

The Wyvern Speech and Language team also liaise with the Kent and Medway Communication and Assistive Technology Service (KMCAT) for students who are on their caseload.

Together we provide a team approach to support your child reach their full communication potential.

How will The Wyvern school support my child's Speech, Language and Communication Needs? 

As a school in Kent, we use the Balanced System which guides our practise for the delivery of SLCN. We are fortunate to have access to a trained, experienced Speech Therapist, who works for us part-time and another Speech Therapist who is on maternity leave at present. The school also employs a SALTA (Speech and Language Therapy Assistant) who coaches Staff in the classroom to ensure the use of communication aids is of a high quality.

The Balanced System works on three levels: Universal, Targeted and Specialist.

Students can move between the three levels according to their changing level of SLCN need.

Universal level:

As a school we have certain guarantees for SLCN at the Universal Level (please see the aims below) across the whole school. These resources enable our students to communicate according to their potential to either enhance their speech or to support them with sharing their wants, needs and social skills. Every student at The Wyvern School have access to our Universal offer as a basic entitlement of attending our SEND provision.

As we work using a Pathway system, our differing curriculums are made relevant to the students, alongside their EHCP outcomes and targets making their day as personalised as possible. This is also true of the SLCN offer within each Pathway. Each Pathway also has Universal SLCN guarantees which every student within their Pathway is entitled to. More information about our different Pathways can be found under the Learning tab.   

At the Universal Level, our Class Teachers, Leads and Pathway Leads are responsible for ensuring all the communication aids are being utilised in class and for transitions to be managed effectively. If a student has a Claire Latham Communication Book for example, it is the Class Team’s responsibility to keep it relevant and up to date for that student. They play an essential role in the success of improving communication at this basic Universal Level.

Targeted Level:

The Targeted Level is for students who need more SLCN provision as their progress has been limited or their needs have increased. This may have been identified through interventions from the Behaviour Team or the Class Teams themselves. The process is simple; the student’s growing SLCN needs are discussed within a Pathway Meeting with other Teachers and the Pathway Lead all of whom will offer advice and share good practise from their own experience and knowledge. A decision will be made accordingly as to whether the student will be immediately referred to our Wyvern SALT or a short period of time will be set to trial a different strategy. At a subsequent Pathway Meeting the Pathway Lead will discover how the student has managed and liaise with our SALT as to next steps.

Once a student has been discussed at a meeting they are classed as being at the Targeted Level because a bespoke approach to their SLCN has been set up. When a student has been referred to Wyvern SALT, the Speech Therapist will discuss the concerns with the Class Teacher and Class Team, make a series of observations and work with the student creating an assessment. From this assessment, the Speech Therapist will then write targets for the student to work on in class with the Class Team. Examples of targeted provision is Communication Books, bespoke symbols for the student to access a certain activity in school life or bespoke symbols on a green and red board for the student to manage a life skill such as toileting. It is at the Targeted Level that families will be contacted, and their child’s progress will be discussed from the school’s perspective as well as from home.

The SALTA will coach the Class Team with the intervention at this Targeted Level and may also work alongside the student when necessary. This intervention will be given a set period of time, so the student has time to make progress. This is usually across a short term, when the Class Teacher will feedback the student’s development according to their written target. The Speech Therapist will then make an informed decision as to whether the student is working successfully with their SLCN resource or whether a further target or support is needed. 

The Wyvern School also has a link NHS Speech Therapist who may work at this level with specific students who have this provision named on their EHCP.

Specialist Level:

The Specialist Level is when a student has greater SLCN and/or has made little progress at the Targeted Level. The Speech Therapist would have had involvement for a period of time and made an informed decision to undertake a series of further assessments, to access outside agencies and/ or Specialist Level provision from the NHS Speech Therapist. This will involve the Class Teacher and parents completing the necessary assessments to ensure the student gains access to extra Specialist provision. This could include input from the KMCAT team who provide VOCAs for example.

All Specialist Level provision will be managed within school by either our Wyvern SALT or NHS SALT as well as the outside agency, where applicable. Parents will be kept fully informed of their child’s progress and their SLCN development. All interventions at the Specialist Level will be over a set period and meetings with the families, students where appropriate and the professionals will be held on a regular basis to ensure the SLCN provision is effective.

 The Wyvern Therapy team aims to:

  • Prepare our students for not just learning within the classroom, but also to prepare them for life after Wyvern.
  • To develop school staff’s and parent’s / carer’s knowledge and skills to support our student’s communication.

If parents have concerns or would like some advice on supporting their child’s communication, they are encouraged to contact the Wyvern Speech and Language Therapy team.

 

Our AAC Communication Guarantee!

We are working to establish the Balanced System® within the school and we have a set of communication resources that are available for all students in all classes. These include:

Classroom Visual Timetables – All classrooms have a visual timetable displayed that shows students in the class what is happening throughout their day.

Core Word Communication Board – This is a communication board that is very similar to the core vocabulary page in the Clare Latham stage 3 communication book. This communication board is so useful as it has key vocabulary that we use all day, every day. It does not matter what you are talking about, in most conversations these words are very likely to appear!

Communication Boards – The aim of a communication board is to communicate rich ideas and teach vocabulary, not necessarily for sentence construction. They can be used during lessons, whilst reading stories or during play activities that your child enjoys. Our communication boards vary in the number of cells and can be tailored to the needs of individual students.

Now and Next Boards – These can be used to visually communicate instructions or expectations to a child. Now and Next boards can help alleviate anxiety related to transitions or changes in routines.

Green and Red Boards – This is a strategy that can be used to visually communicate a sequence of activities and support with turn taking.  This resource can include more symbols than a now and next board and the student can see the order of activities and when these are due to finish.

 

If you are a parent of a student in Wyvern School and are interested in any of these resources, please speak to your class teacher.  

 How can parents and carers help at home?

Please contact the Wyvern Speech and Language Therapy team if you would like support for your child. It is important that home and school work together.

Great strategies to support your child include:

  • Talk to your child about things they are doing and are interested in. Try to stick to 4 comments for every question that you ask.
  • Play games, take turns and listen to what they are saying, however they are communicating.
  • Use your child’s communication aids with them. Learn together and show them how to use them.

 Here are some fantastic websites and resources that you can access to help support your child’s communication development:

 

 

  • https://pathway.thebalancedsystem.org/ - This is the Balanced System® website, where you can find out more about the initiative. It will also signpost you to other great websites that will help support your child’s speech, language and communication needs.

 School Speech and Language Therapist Team:

The Wyvern School
Great Chart Bypass
Ashford
TN23 4ER

Telephone: 01233 621468

Email: stherapy@wyvern.kent.sch.uk

NHS Speech and Language Therapy Team:

Sonia Sivyer
Speech and Language Therapy
The Rainbow Centre
The Great Chart Bypass
Ashford
TN23 4ER

Telephone: 03000420847

 

 

 

 

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