Speech and Language Difficulties

The Children's Services Directorate make available external specialists for speech and language skills difficulties to support the work of early years settings and schools at Early Years/School Action Plus, Statutory Assessment and Annual Review in accordance with the SEN code of practice through:

1. The Specialist Advisory Teaching Service, which is integral to Children's Services, Cumbria County Council and
2. Sub-contracting to Cumbria Primary Care Trust to provide specialist speech and language therapy for each area of the County.    

Please note that referral routes to access services are dependent upon the age of the child as explained at the end of section two below: 

1. The Specialist Advisory Teaching Service

The core work of the Specialist Advisory Teachers for Speech and Language who are integral to an Area team of Specialists is to provide advice and support to schools, pupils and their families for pupils who have specific and significant difficulties in developing age appropriate speech, language and communication skills and have cognitive abilities within the average range. These difficulties must be severe enough to impede the pupil’s progress and independent access to the National Curriculum.

The majority of pupils are usually identified at the pre-school and foundation stage and their difficulties reduced by the time they leave key stage 2, but there are also a few pupils whose needs are not as clearly identified until key stage 2. A small number of children may require support into the secondary phase.

Access to the Service

Please use this link to open a document that highlights how referrals may be made, following parental agreement, through various routes and detailing the primary role of the Specialist Advisory Teacher: Speech and Language.

2. Specialist Speech and Language Therapy Services to Children's Services

All pre-school and Foundation Stage Children exhibiting both significantly delayed and/or disordered patterns of speech, language and communications skills difficulties will be referred, in the first instance, to the Speech and Language Therapy Department of Cumbria Primary Care Trust.

For further information about Speech and Language Therapy Services provided by Cumbria Primary Care Trust please contact as follows:

For referrals in the South of the County please contact the following bases:

Barrow/Dalton/Ulverson/Grange and surrounding area please contact:
Speech and Language Therapy Department
The Fairfield Centre
Fairfield Lane Barrow-in-Furness
Cumbria
LA13 9AJ 

Kendal/Ambleside/Windermere/Milnethorpe/Kirby Lonsdale/Sedburgh and surrounding area, contact:
Speech and Language Therapy Department
The Blackhall Unit
Westmorland General Hospital
Burton Road
Kendal
Cumbria
LA9 7RG

For Referrals in the North and East of the County:

Speech and Language Therapy Department
Central Clinic
Victoria Place
Carlisle
CA1 1HP

For referrals in the West of the County please contact:

Speech and Language Therapy Department
Workington Community Hospital
Park Lane
Workington
CA14 2RW

Care Pathway

At the Pre-school/Foundation Stage, following initial assessment and a period of intervention, if the Speech and Language Therapist considers this appropriate, the Therapist may refer the pupil to one of her colleagues in the Speech and Language Therapy Department who has specialised in providing advice and support for children with specific speech and language difficulties. The Specialist Therapist will assess the situation and if it is deemed appropriate will provide regular intervention within the School/Setting. This will still be Early Years /School Action Plus of the Code of Practice. In some instances the Specialist Therapist may deem it appropriate to request non-statutory support from the Special Educational Needs Service to provide a Learning Support Assistant for regular speech practice once the child is of school age. The Specialist Therapist will support the school to make this request of SENS by submitting a detailed IEP including the costs of employing a Teaching Assistant, specifically relating to speech and/or language development. Alternatively the child may continue to be served by the generalist paediatric therapist, or it may be considered appropriate with parental consent to make a cross referral to the Specialist Advisory Teaching Service.

Summary of Services

The roles of the Specialist Advisory Teacher and Specialist Speech and Language Therapist are complimentary and provide a seamless service to education for children with speech and language difficulties which is flexible and fluid, responding to the child's changing needs.