Working together Provision of speech and language therapy 8. One area where collaboration needs to be improved is speech and language therapy. This is a key to raising the educational potential of children with communication difficulties.
Communication skills are in turn a pre-requisite for literacy skills.
When communication problems persist into school years the greatest benefits can be achieved where speech therapists work with teachers and other staff as part of a team, monitoring the progress of children regularly. We will consider funding joint research by the DfEE and the Department of Health into the factors which lead to the most effective provision of speech and language therapy for children . Children with communication difficulties have a right to a thorough assessment, effective support and regular reviews of progress. There are examples of collaboration between agencies and schools, but in too many cases provision of speech and language therapy to children has been hindered by the conflicting duties and powers of health authorities and LEAs and by lack of clarity over funding. We will look at these obstacles, and if necessary change the law so that children receive the service they need .