The lockdowns imposed during the pandemic have presented immense challenges for all, especially teachers. Everyone has been affected in a multitude of ways and it has had a profound impact on children, particularly those that are vulnerable.

A lot of lessons have been learnt along this rollercoaster of a journey and in this week’s episode, my guest Wendy Lee, discusses the impact of school disruption due to COVID, on children’s speech, language and communication skills. It has a significant impact on children’s learning and future outcomes, but there is also a very high correlation with mental health.

Wendy is a speech and language therapist with over 30 years’ experience in a wide range of settings. We explore her experiences, looking at how speech and language therapists worked together with schools during the past 18 months and share what she has seen in terms of children’s language and communication and what has worked to support children with language difficulties.

Useful Links

Potential Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Communication and Language Skills in Children - Sara A. Charney, Stephen M. Camarata, Alexander Chern, 2021 (sagepub.com)

Lockdowns hurt child speech and language skills - report - BBC News

Report (ican.org.uk)

Microsoft PowerPoint - APPG presentation - December 2020 - FINAL (rcslt.org)

Helping your school age child and toddler to talk – Afasic

Coronavirus resources for children and families - Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust (sheffieldchildrens.nhs.uk)

Coronavirus: ‘Concerning’ impact on language development and PSED among four- to five-year-olds | Nursery World

Private and voluntary settings will be able to access early language catch-up scheme | Nursery WorldImpact of Covid-19 disruptions in primary schools: attainment gaps and school responses | Projects | Education Endowment Foundation | EEF