UPDATE from 23 February 2021
Following the announcement from the Prime Minister on 22 February 2021, advising that all children and young people will return to educational settings from 8 March 2021, there will be no change to the Children and Young People’s Therapies service offer. We will continue to comply with social distancing measures when delivering appointments by using a virtual first approach. Therapists will deliver face to face intervention where indicated, wearing appropriate PPE for all sessions, both in education setting, clinic or at home. Within HCT all staff have been offered the COVID-19 vaccination and those who are undertaking face to face appointments are regularly self-testing using a Lateral Flow test.
The Children and Young People’s (CYP) Speech and Language Therapy service offers a child- and family-centred approach to support CYP with speech, language, communication needs (SLCN) and those with eating and drinking difficulties in Hertfordshire.
We work in partnership with parents, carers, health and education professionals to promote positive outcomes for CYP. Our service model aims to reduce the gap and inequalities amongst CYP in Hertfordshire who have SLCN.
Our service offer is underpinned by the following aims:
- CYP and families are empowered through the provision of information and advice
- CYP and families are able to manage their own health and wellbeing by learning new skills
- CYP’s participation is maximised through enhanced, communication friendly environments
- The wider children’s workforce are confident to support CYP with SLCN
- There is early identification of SLCN and impacts minimised through early advice and support
- CYP and families can access high-quality, evidence-based, effective intervention in a timely manner
- CYP achieve positive outcomes that prepare them for life through a collaborative approach
Children & Young People's Therapies Service Offer
This page contains information and help; however we also have a dedicated telephone number which parents, carers and professional can call to speak to a therapist about a new referral or child’s development. The advice line number is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please leave a message on our Advice Line 01992 823093 and a therapist will contact you. Calls are responded to by a therapist on weekdays.
If your child is already known to the service please contact us on the number below.
Training
We are currently reviewing our training courses and workshop sessions, so that these can be delivered in a new virtual format. We hope that our new virtual training sessions will become available later in the year. New dates and details will be added here so please come back and check again if you are interested in any of our sessions.
We are now able to offer a Virtual Speech and Language Support for 5-11s Elklan Course, please click HERE for dates and how to book.
We are now able to offer Virtual Makaton Levels 1 and 2 courses. Please click HERE for Level 1 dates and how to book, and HERE for Level 2 and how to book.
Contact the service
Telephone: 01992 823193
Email: hct.cyptherapies1@nhs.net
Find us on Twitter
Service Delivery during Covid-19:
Children and Young People’s Therapies has changed the way we are working due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We are continuing to accept new referrals through our usual referral pathways but have reduced service capacity at this time. In order to comply with social distancing the majority of appointments will be offered virtually either with telephone or video appointments via <Attend Anywhere>
Information on using ‘Attend Anywhere’ can be found at: https://nhs.attendanywhere.com/callers
Process for Face-to-face appointments:
- Please do not attend a face-to-face appointment if you, your child or anyone in your household is exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms or if you or your child are required to self-isolate during the time of the appointment.
- Only one parent/guardian is permitted to attend the appointment with a child. Please do not bring any other children to the appointment.
- On arrival at the HCT centre, please follow local instructions provided when the appointment was booked. Please arrive at your appointment time as there is limited waiting space in the buildings and car parks. A clinician will collect you and lead you to the clinic room. Clinicians will be wearing personal protective equipment, as per recommended guidelines.
- We ask that you maintain social distancing wherever possible and when entering the building, please ensure that both of you are wearing a face covering or mask (very young children or those with additional needs will not be required to wear a face covering or mask).
- Strict cleaning procedures are in place.
Along with our Advice Line we are also delivering:
- Support for CYP who need to be discharged out of hospital
- Support for CYP who may require end of life care or an urgent social care assessment
- Support for CYP with dysphagia (eating and drinking difficulties)
- Urgent moving/handling and access assessments, and advice/review of equipment needs
- Assessments for statutory Education, Health and Care plans
- Contacting families of CYP with therapy provision as part of their EHCP to discuss their child’s needs
- Appointments to review a CYP’s needs where they have complex or urgent therapy needs or for those CYP whose needs are as yet unclear
We are not currently delivering face to face groups due to the increased risk of transmission that they pose.
If you have any urgent or new queries please contact the CYPT Advice Line number - 01992 823093 and a therapist will contact you to discuss your concern.
Please remember to also look on the Website pages under Useful Information for further advice and support.
UPDATE from 5 January 2021
Following announcement of a further national lockdown there is currently no change to the Children and Young People’s Therapy Service offer. We are continuing to comply with social distancing measures when delivering appointments using a virtual first approach. We encourage you to attend all of your planned appointments.
The Speech and Language Therapy team work with CYP in the most appropriate setting to promote functional communication and/or eating and drinking skills. We work with families and education staff to empower them to be confident agents of change for the individual CYP. We routinely visit early years settings, mainstream schools and specialist schools. Some CYP may be seen at home or in a clinic according to clinical need. For those CYP with an identified need, an episode of care will be recommended. If required, the Speech and Language Therapist will work through an interpreter should a child or family have difficulty communicating in English.
We offer support in different ways:
Universal - something for all children, for example: raising awareness and increasing understanding of SLCN and eating or drinking difficulties
Targeted - something for some children, for example: working with families and settings to help identify and overcome barriers faced by CYP with SLCN or eating and drinking difficulties
Specialist - something for children with a defined clinical need, for example: where our input can make a significant contribution to a CYP’s health and wellbeing
Not all children will require specialist support from the service as advice and support can be accessed through our targeted and universal offer.
The Children’s Speech and Language Therapy Service supports children and young people from birth to 18 years old. Children and young people should be registered with a Hertfordshire GP or be resident in Hertfordshire, as well as attending a Hertfordshire school, college or early years setting. We also support young people up to the age of 25 years who have an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and are attending an educational setting in Hertfordshire.
Most pre-school children will attend a Speech and Language Therapy Drop In session. Most school-aged children will be seen in school for their first assessment. It is important that you respond promptly when invited to make an appointment and that you contact the Speech and Language Therapy Service if you are unable attend. Parents/carers are required to attend a child’s initial appointment.
The Speech and Language Therapist will talk to you about your concerns and ask about your child's speech and language development, or eating and drinking skills. The therapist will observe your child, and may carry out specific activities and assessments.
The therapist will talk to you about your child’s strengths and any difficulties they may have identified. At the end of the appointment the therapist may advise you that no further support from the service is required or they may provide you with some advice and strategies, and guide you to seek further support through your child’s educational setting. If your child does require direct support from the service, the therapist will inform you about what this episode of care will be.
The Children’s Speech and Language Therapy service has provided some resources for parents and people who work with children. This is both general advice on common concerns, as well as specific advice sheets which a therapist may recommend for you.
Have you heard of the Local Offer? If you are a young person with, or have a child with special educational needs and disabilities(SEND), the Local Offer is Hertfordshire’s central source of information for SEND services and support. Visit www.hertsdirect.org/localoffer for an easily accessible one-stop shop.
All referrals sent to the service are triaged by a therapist. The information in the referral will be used to make a decision on whether an assessment appointment will be offered.
Click here for referral guidelines.
Click here to download a referral form.
Guidance on how to complete a referral
Pre-School Children
Should you have concerns regarding your child’s speech and language development please speak to your Health Visitor or local Family Centre. They will often be able to provide you with advice on ways to support your child at home. If your child is aged over two years six months, you may be advised to attend one of our drop in clinics for further advice.
School-aged Children
If your child is in full-time school you should discuss any concerns you may have with your child’s teacher. Some children can be supported in their school without a referral to the service through advice from the school’s link therapist. SENCos and other educational professionals can refer a child to the service.
Eating and drinking difficulties
If you are worried about your child’s eating and drinking skills, please speak to your child’s health visitor or GP in the first instance. Referrals for eating and drinking difficulties will only be accepted from a Health professional, for example GP, Health Visitor, paediatrician, dietician. We would not carry out assessments of eating and drinking at our Drop In sessions.
Virtual Screening Clinics
Virtual screening clinics are now available to book on through Eventbrite. These clinics are an opportunity for you as a parent to talk with the therapist regarding your child’s development and for us to gather information to understand your child’s needs. You may have been directed to these clinics by a Health Visitor or a professional working with your child but you do not need a referral to attend one of these clinics.
We have two separate clinics running, one by Speech and Language Therapists and one by Occupational Therapists. The criteria for attending the SLT clinic is as follows:
SaLT:
- Screening Clinics are for pre-school children, i.e. children who are 2 years 6 months and above and are not yet in full time school. We do not carry out assessments of eating and drinking at Screening clinics
- We are unable to see children with Education, Health and Care plans or those requiring associated assessment within these clinics. A referral should be made by your child’s Special Educational Needs officer
- Children already known to the service or children beyond the given age ranges for each clinic are not able to be seen. Parents can ring our Advice Line to discuss their child’s needs instead
- We are unable to see children with eating and drinking difficulties within these clinics
Please click HERE to access further information and to book your place for the SaLT Virtual Screening Clinic.
Patient Story
This is an example of a patient story in which a parent, client or carer is asked about their journey through an NHS Speech and Language Therapy Service in Hertfordshire. Such information has been collected on behalf of the Hertfordshire Community Trust in order to hear directly from patients about their interactions with a service and the ways in which it could be improved. A student Speech and Language Therapist, Charlotte Fraser, conducted an informal interview with a parent on 1 March 2017 under the supervision of Mhairi Mason, Speech and Language Therapist, to collect such data.
The journey
The parent outlined the child’s journey through the Hertfordshire NHS Speech and Language Service, specifically focusing on her current phase at Tier One provision of SLT at a local severe learning disability school. Though she emphasised that her child’s journey had been long and difficult, she praised the services continuing support and flexibility. She stated that she was extremely pleased with the current level of provision and felt that her child’s needs were being successfully being met and maintained.
Positive aspects of the service
The parent highlighted many positive aspects of the service, stating that though there was never a specific problem previously, the current SLT provision had been above and beyond what she expected.
Firstly, she highlighted that she always felt included in any decisions made concerning her child. She explained that there was always a clear path of communication and she was incredibly appreciative of the time dedicated by the SLT to ensuring she was kept up to date with her child’s progress. The parent expanded upon this, claiming that as a result she feels reassured and confident her child’s needs are sufficiently understood and being met at school.
Secondly, she commented upon the approachable nature of the professionals within the service, explaining that she felt able to contact them whenever she required reassurance or clarification. In addition, she was in no doubt as to their resounding dedication and care to improving the life of her child as well as their family.
Finally, she highlighted the professionals’ pro-active nature as one of best features of the service. She listed a variety of different activities that the SLT had specifically undertaken with her child as well as multiple activities devised and given to the agent of change (the school) to undertake. Furthermore, she was keen to highlight the inclusive nature of the SLT service as the professionals organised events such as Makaton Signing Workshops which provide relevant training for parents. Not only did she think these events were important for parents to attend in order to enhance their ability to communicate with their children, she said they had provided a sense of morale amongst those who attended. It was only during these sessions that she realised she was not alone as other parents were experiencing the same difficulties. Thus she explained that she was extremely grateful to the service for the opportunity to make friends with others in similar positions as it has recently been a great source of support.
Negative aspects of the service
The parent struggled to find a negative aspect of the service, though she stated if she had to provide an answer it would be in the form of a suggestion rather than a criticism of the current provision. As highlighted previously, she thoroughly enjoys attending events provided by the service and would ask for these to increase in frequency. However, she recognised the difficulty of doing this given the time constraints on SLTs as well as the inconsistent and low attendance levels by other parents.
Advice for future users of the service
The parent was pleased that the interviewer asked this question as she wished that she could have received advice from another parent in a similar situation at the start of her child’s journey. The first piece of advice she wished to share was the importance of patience – though she recognised each child’s journey through the service is different, she said that patience is vital to success as pressure on the child to achieve is minimised. Furthermore, she recognised that great change cannot occur overnight and thus it is a necessary, but difficult skill, to develop. She also said that she would encourage parents to be as pro-active as possible – whether this be through maintaining regular contact with the relevant professionals in the service thus feeling involved in the child’s journey or by attending parent meetings and training sessions. In doing so the parent claimed she had reduced her own anxiety and felt like a key part of her child’s progress. Finally, she wanted to encourage parents to develop or seek to find an effective support network as she stressed in order to cope, you must recognise that you are not alone in your struggle.
If you would like to share your story, please contact the Patient Experience team on 01707 388036 or email pals.hchs@nhs.net.
We would also love to hear about your experience on our service, please complete a survey by clicking here.
Useful information:
Your journey - attending a drop-in screening clinic
Your journey - speech, language and/or communication difficulties at school
Your journey - eating and drinking difficulty
