The Minister of State for School Standards visited a Jewish primary school on Friday, as the Government committed £3.4 million to be spent on continuing early language support programmes for schoolchildren.
Education Minister Catherine McKinnell came to the Hasmonean Primary School in Hendon to see an example of the programme in action. The school has been Hasmonean has been instrumental in introducing the ELSEC [Early Language Support for Every Child] programme to its Nursery and Reception classes. The scheme helps schools, nurseries and parents to support their children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). McKinnell was accompanied by leaders from the Barnet Education Service.
Commenting after her visit, the MP said: “Today, we’re announcing over £3m for the ELSEC programme to continue for another year.
“This will help 20,000 more children with speech & language difficulties & SEND [Special Education Needs and Disabilities] get earlier support to succeed at their local school.
“To see the programme in action, I visited Hasmonean primary school, which has already seen a real impact from the support. It was fantastic to see the teachers using fun, creative approaches to help their pupils build their speech and language skills!”
Catherine McKinnell observes the session, with Mrs Jemma Brahams, Head of Early Years at Hasmonean, and Kim Miller, Barnet Head of SEND and Inclusion
The school’s staff have had bespoke individualised training and have reportedly seen the positive impact of this programme across Nursery and Reception, so much so that it is now being brought to Hasmonean’s innovative Learning Space as well as Key Stage 1. The Minister observed an activity focused on developing children’s social communication skills.
Head of Early Years and SEN Support at Hasmonean Primary School, Jemma Brahams, said: “The impact on our pupils’ development has been really positive. The training provided on these interventions has been huge for us, as we now don’t need to wait for anyone to come into the school or go on any waiting lists – we can just take it forward straightaway.”
“The impact on our pupils’ development has been really positive too. As the activity is creative and interactive, it supports the children’s speech and language development, concentration and attention – we’ve seen so much progress.”
According to data from the Department for Education, developmental delays have been a growing issue since the pandemic, with more than 40,000 children waiting over 12 weeks for speech and language therapy as of June 2024.
This is particularly prevalent for children with SEND, where numbers have risen sharply from 1.3 million in 2020 to 1.67 million in 2024 – with one in four of these children requiring additional help to overcome difficulties listening, understanding and talking.
A parent of at Hasmonean Primary school whose child is part of the programme said: “Raphael is four and did not speak until recently, he only made noises which was so frustrating for him, but with interventions he has progressed amazingly.
“With 3-4 interventions a week he has massively grown in confidence, he is communicating with his friends and expressing himself more than ever – we are now hopeful that Raphael can go to Reception in September, which was not an option a few months ago!
“This programme has been so impactful for my son and it is amazing to see the work being done for children like Raphael.”
