Speech, language, and communication needs

Speech, language, and communication skills help your child to:

• express needs and wants
• build relationships
• learn, including reading
• understand and express emotions.

These skills develop throughout childhood, and every child progresses at their own pace. Some children find these areas harder than expected for their age. These children may have speech, language and communication needs (SLCN).

SLCN is one of the most common childhood needs. Many children start school needing extra support with speech, language and communication and around 10% of children have long-term SLCN. Around 2 in every classroom have Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). In Kent, SLCN is the most common need in early years and primary schools. It is the second most common need in secondary schools.