Speech and language therapy - Government review

Along with many parents of deaf children, NDCS responded to a Government review on speech and language therapy, outlining the difficulties faced by many parents in getting the right level of support for their deaf child. 

John Bercow MP was asked by the Department for Children, Schools and Families to lead an independent review into services for children and young people who have speech, language and communication needs. The review is looking into a range of issues including:

•    What services are needed for children who have speech, language and communication needs?
•    How central and local government work together to provide these services?
•    What specialist staff need to deliver these services?
•    What has worked well across the country?
•    Whether services should be targeted at children in their early years?

The review undertook a call for evidence from October 2007 to January 2008 which NDCS responded to:

Bercow review - NDCS final response (102 kb)

Bercow published an interim report in March 2008, of which an executive summary is also available:

Bercow review - interim report (927 kb)

Bercow review - executive summary of interim report (166 kb)

Nearly one in ten people who responded to the call for evidence were parents of deaf children, which helped to ensure that the needs of deaf children were taken into account. We would like to thank all those who took the time to share their experiences with the review team.

A final report is expected to be published in July 2008.