New communications hub launches in Colchester

Three children wearing yellow hard hats sitting at a table inside a classroom with two adults.

We have supported a Colchester primary school to become a hub for early years communication.

Kendall Church of England Primary School has completed the Elklan Communication Friendly Setting Primary Award.

The school is now a centre of excellence for speech, language, and communication.

Teachers and Learning Support Assistants can now deliver interventions for children. These are small group activities designed to improve their speaking and listening skills.

These sessions will help to improve outcomes in the school setting. The wider local community and Essex will also benefit.

The school is one of three communications hubs in Essex. It will help to connect speech and language services with increasing demand.

A network of Communications Champions has also been set up. They will come together to share best practice. The network is currently made up of 20 pre-schools and 15 primary schools.

Each member of the network will have access to a range of support. This will enable them to provide for the growing speech and language needs in their settings.