PA62 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists

Our response is based on discussions with our members across Wales and focusses on a number of areas within the terms of reference namely the reasons for persistent absence, reasons why persistent absenteeism is more prevalent among particular groups of pupils and the level and effectiveness of action and support from schools, local government and the Welsh Government. [...] • Given the strong evidence that children and young people who are more likely to have poorer absence attendance records are also more likely to have SLCN, there is a need to ensure that the wider education workforce is aware of SLCN and that the workforce is able to identify and support the needs of children and young people in this area. [...] • We call for training for new teachers and as continuous professional development for existing staff members on how to support speech, language and communication skills and identify and support SLCN coupled with a focus on ensuring support staff are able to assist teachers in the provision of universal and targeted services to support language development in schools. [...] We believe that given this wide-ranging evidence, there is a need to ensure that the wider education workforce is aware of SLCN and that the workforce is able to identify and support the needs of children and young people in this area. [...] We welcome that in the remaining areas, the Curriculum for Wales 2022 places a number of key language and communication skills at the core of the descriptions of learning and progression steps and the fact that a speech and language therapist has been invited to be part of working groups.