Speech and Language Therapists at Dysart School work across two main areas:
Communication
We support all staff, parents and pupils in the school to:
– Help pupils to fulfil their communicative potential;
– Promote language and communication skills within the classroom, wider school environment and home;
– Enable pupils to access the curriculum, learn and make progress;
– Support the development of pupils’ skills in the following areas:
Eating, Drinking and Swallowing –
We aim to maximise pupils’ safe eating, drinking and swallowing skills, including:
– Accepting/tolerating different textures and tastes of foods and drinks
– Chewing
– Swallowing
If you have any questions or would like advice about how to support your child’s communication or eating, drinking and swallowing at home, please contact the Speech and Language Therapy Team at SALT-Dysart@dysartschool.org
Speech and Language Therapy at Dysart provides a range of evidence-based interventions, through collaborative working with parents/carers, education staff and other professionals within Dysart School.
Our current approach is in line with best practice guidelines provided by our governing body, The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. Our input is based on each individual pupil’s needs. In line with the recent review of therapy services in the boroughs of Kingston and Richmond, the speech and language therapy team base their approach on the Balanced Model Framework ©
The speech and language therapy team offer a universal level of support to all pupils at Dysart school. This is continuously reviewed based on the needs of the Dysart community. Through this approach, the speech and language therapy team aim to empower parents/carers and school staff to understand their individual child/pupil’s needs and implement strategies/systems that support pupils to meet their communicative potential.
This currently includes:
At times your child may require additional support from the speech and language therapy team. School can raise this to the speech and language therapy team through completing a “Request for Support”. This may occur when:
If this occurs the speech and language therapy team will complete an up to date assessment of your child’s communication and/or eating, drinking and swallowing strengths and needs in order to determine a plan of support (i.e. provide advice, identify new strategies/systems/approaches to implement and/or identifying training needs of parents/staff)
Your child will then return to the universal level of support once this period of assessment/intervention has been completed. However, for students who have complex eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties they will often remain on this level of support long term, for regular reviews.
New Pupils at Dysart
If your child is new to Dysart they will receive an introductory assessment package from the speech and language therapy team. This will include:
Pupils Leaving Dysart
When it is time for a pupil to leave Dysart, the speech and language therapy team will complete an assessment package again to ensure that the information about your child’s communication and/or eating, drinking and swallowing strengths and needs is up to date. This will be shared with the appropriate people to ensure the change is as easy as possible for parents/carers and the child/young adult.
The Team provides regular training on communication and eating, drinking and swallowing to all school staff in order for them to be kept up to date with relevant and evidence-based therapy programs and strategies, for use within the classroom.
Specific areas of training can include:
We hold workshops for parents and carers and are available at other times during the year or by appointment to support families.
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