High Crags Primary School
Designated Specialist Provision (DSP) – The Sunshine Room
High Crags Primary School has a DSP for children with severe and specific speech
and language difficulties.
The DSP opened in 2006, with provision for six children. There is one other primary
DSP in Bradford situated at Green Lane Primary, and one secondary provision at
Oasis Academy.
The main aim of all three DSPs is that they provide specialist support for children
with a diagnosis of severe and specific language difficulties.
How do we know what language difficulties might benefit from this provision?
Children may have one or a combination of the following difficulties:
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Unintelligible or disordered speech
Disordered receptive language
Disordered expressive language
Difficulties processing or understanding language
The above present in the absence of general leaning difficulties and are not related
to hearing impairment or Autistic Spectrum Condition.
How and when might people be referred?
Children can be referred at any age through Bradford Education Authority but in
order to access the DSP they must have a Statement of Special Educational Needs,
or an Education, Health and Care Plan with a primary area of need of SLCN (Speech
Language and Communication Difficulties). If the Statutory Assessment process has
already begun, children are also eligible to access the provision, providing this has
been arranged through the Local Authority.
Early identification and referral are preferable because the earlier the intervention,
the more rapid the rate of progress is likely to be and the greater the success. Also,
early entry will help to ensure the child’s self-esteem remains intact. This, together
with the fact that literacy skills are closely linked to a child’s speech and language
development, makes early identification crucial to future literacy success.
What does the DSP offer?
The DSP offers full inclusion where children are able to access the National
curriculum alongside their peers, supported by highly trained staff who work
alongside teachers and speech therapists to provide the necessary support.
The DSP is managed by the Assistant Head (Inclusion), Sarah Bowe who has
worked within the SEN arena for over ten years including 6 years as a specialist
teacher for the Learning Support Service within the local authority. The team within
the unit includes two highly trained and experienced Support Assistants who have
completed Level 2 qualifications in Speech and Language from Elklan.
The DSP is very much part of High Crags Primary School and the importance of
communication for all children is reflected in the ethos of the school. The school has
been accredited with Communication Friendly Status through Elklan, ensuring that
all staff are fully aware of the difficulties children may face and the quality first
strategies in place are evident is all classes.
It also offers a truly collaborative approach by specialist speech and language
therapists who work alongside teaching staff, support staff, parents and outside
agencies to ensure that the child is able to achieve their full potential.
What strategies are used?
Cued Articulation is a signing system using hand signs to represent each speech
sound. The sign indicates where the sound is produced within the mouth and how it
is produced. Cued articulation is used to cue the child in when they are experiencing
difficulties:
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Saying the sound correctly
Hearing the difference between speech sounds
Learning to recognise the letters of the alphabet
Colour coding is a system used to support expressive language development
particularly linked to text. Children with expressive language difficulties often put
words into sentences in the wrong order; they may omit small grammatical words.
Colour coding helps grammatical development through a visual system using colours
to highlight the parts of a sentence.
E.g. ‘who’ questions are orange; ‘where’ is red and so on. Gradually, using this
approach, children can be supported to sequence their spoken and written
sentences using this approach.
Makaton is used with children with unclear speech to help them express
themselves. It is a visual way of supporting language development, encouraging the
child to say and sign the communication.
Visual symbols are also used to support language both through visual timetables
which are used in every mainstream classroom, and the use of Communicate in Print
symbols which are used to provide additional visual support in a number of tasks.
Speech and Language Therapy
The DSP receives contracted support from a highly specialised speech and
language therapist. This consists of 1:1 therapy sessions, support for the class
teachers with strategies to support the child in the mainstream classroom; support
for specialised Teaching Assistants to ensure delivery of language interventions is
consistent; individualised target setting according to specific areas of need identified
by in depth assessment.