Written Evidence Nov. 19 2024
Committee: Public Accounts CommitteeFound: education in relation to supporting children and young people’s speech, language and communication
Asked by: Harpreet Uppal (Labour - Huddersfield)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time is (a) for a neurodevelopmental assessment, (b) to access CAMHS services and (c) for speech and language therapy services for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) children in Kirklees.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The data is not held centrally in the format requested, but some relevant information covering waiting times for these services for all children and young people is available. Neurodevelopmental assessments can include, but are not limited to, assessments for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
In the NHS West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB), the Autism Waiting Time Statistics published by NHS England show that there was a total of 5,385 patients aged zero to 17 years old with an open suspected autism referral in December 2024, the latest available data. The median waiting time of patients in this ICB with an open suspected autism referral, where their first care contact was in the quarter, was 257 days in December 2024 for those aged under 10 years old, and was 239 days for those aged 10 to 17 years old. Caution should be used when interpreting these statistics since they are experimental rather than official statistics.
In respect of ADHD, there is, at present, no single, established dataset that can be used to monitor waiting times for the assessment and diagnosis for ADHD nationally or for individual organisations or geographies in England.
The latest available data for the NHS West Yorkshire ICB shows that in the period of November 2024 to January 2025, the median waiting time between referral and first contact for children and young people, those aged under 18 years old, supported through National Health Service funded mental health services, was 14 days. This data is published in the Mental Health Services Monthly Statistics, which is available at the following link:
For speech and language therapy services in Kirklees, following an initial triage or screening, it can take between seven and 32 weeks for a full assessment.
Written Evidence Mar. 17 2025
Inquiry: Solving the SEND CrisisFound: language and communication called Auditory Verbal therapy and provides internationally accredited training
Written Evidence Mar. 17 2025
Inquiry: Solving the SEND CrisisFound: The solutions: 1 Public Accounts Committee (2025) Support for children and young people with special
Mar. 27 2025
Source Page: Pre-entry health assessments guidance for UK refugeesFound: Needs and/or Disability (SEND) in the United Kingdom • Children and young people (CYP) with special
Asked by: David Baines (Labour - St Helens North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) providing funding for speech and language interventions earlier than reception age and (b) help ensure that Family Hubs can support families within the home learning environment before the age of three.
Answered by Stephen Morgan - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Early language is a part of the best start in life pillar of the Opportunity Mission, where we have set an ambitious milestone of a record number of five-year-olds reaching a good level of development in the early years foundation stage assessment by 2028. This measure includes an assessment of children’s early communication and language development.
As part of the support offer in the early years, Stronger Practice Hubs have enabled early years settings to access funded places on evidence-based professional development programmes. This has included over 20 programmes focused on speech, language and communication for under 4s.
The department also works in partnership with NHS England to deliver the Early Language Support for Every Child (ELSEC) pathfinders, which utilises pre-qualification therapy support assistants to improve early identification and support for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs within early years and primary school settings.
Through the Family Hubs programme for children aged 0 to 19-years-old, or 25-years-old with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), the government is investing in parent-facing interventions that seek to give children the best start in life. Research shows that what happens at home can make the biggest difference to long term impacts on a child’s life chances. Therefore, we are supporting families of 3 to 4-year-olds to create rich home-learning environments that foster a love of learning in their children. Family Hubs and voluntary and community sector partners play a pivotal role in supporting these efforts, providing local communities with the tools and support they need to succeed.
This work is complemented by our national campaign, ‘Little Moments Together’, which uses paid-for social media, out-of-home advertising, online videos and free resources to raise parents’ awareness, motivation and capability in the home-environment. We will continue to monitor the Family Hubs networks to ensure we consistently adopt the best approach to support families of young children, including exploring the effectiveness of expanding the age range targeted, as the programme evolves.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has been clear in her commitment to early years as her number one priority and we will take the steps needed to improve children’s early learning and development, giving every child the best start in life.
Dec. 17 2008
Source Page: Better communication: an action plan to improve Services for Children and Young People with Speech, Language and Communication Needs.Found: Improving services for Children and Young People with Speech, Language and Communication Needs 52.
Found: and young people and the link to the involvement of most young people involved with the youth justice
Mentions:
1: Saqib Bhatti (Con - Meriden and Solihull East) , young people and those who are young at heart to have better speech and language therapy and to contribute - Speech Link
2: David Williams (Lab - Stoke-on-Trent North) Ten per cent of all children and young people have a diagnosed long-term speech, language and communication - Speech Link
3: Helen Hayes (Lab - Dulwich and West Norwood) that very young children can access speech and language therapy as soon as a need is identified. - Speech Link
4: Stephen Kinnock (Lab - Aberafan Maesteg) More than 65,000 children and young people were on a waiting list for speech and language therapy in - Speech Link
5: Sureena Brackenridge (Lab - Wolverhampton North East) in speech and language therapy. - Speech Link
6: Dave Robertson (Lab - Lichfield) in speech and language therapy. - Speech Link
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of specialist therapeutic providers.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The department knows that children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) frequently require access to additional support from a broad specialist workforce across education, health and care, including speech and language therapists and other therapy services.
Across England, community health services, including therapies, are locally commissioned to enable systems to best meet the needs of their communities. The department is working closely with NHS England to improve access to community health services.
As part of the government’s mission to build an NHS that is fit for the future, the department will also provide access to specialist mental health professionals in every school through expanding Mental Health Support Teams, so every young person has access to early support to address problems before they escalate.