Training Options
Speech and Language Training Courses
All of our training, from one-off sessions for schools to our full SILSA Programme, is selected or developed by us to be both effective and evidence based. Our speech and language training courses draw on our years of hands on experience of working in partnership with staff in a wide range of schools as well as on our specialist clinical knowledge and skills.
We value our many links with therapist colleagues working in a variety of specialist clinical areas and are grateful for their insights and contributions towards the development of our training.
Feedback from our recent ELKLAN Course
School Training
We can provide training on Speech and Language development and specific aspects of SLCN and support. This training can be delivered in short training sessions (75 – 90 minutes suitable for twilight training / part insets) either in-school or online. Half or full day inset training can also be provided. Our current training options are shown here.
We want to maximise the impact and effectiveness of all our training, whether this is a single short training session, an inset day, or the entire SILSA Programme. As part of this, we view what happens before and after training to be as important as the training itself. Therefore, we offer SENCOs / training leads a free consultation prior to delivering any training. This can help schools to select the most relevant topic for them, and also means we can look to ensure schools’ priorities / aims are incorporated into the training. We also help schools to consider an action plan (‘what now?’) once the training has been provided.
ELKLAN 5-11s
We provide ELKLAN (currently the Speech and Language Support for 5-11s course) as our accredited training offer. ELKLAN training courses are very well established both in the UK and overseas, and over 80,000 people have accessed their training. Find out more at: www.elklan.co.uk
The ELKLAN course takes place one afternoon a week over a period of 10 (term time) weeks. Participants who want to gain accreditation (required for the SILSA Programme) will also complete a Learning Log in between sessions where they put into practice some of their learning from the sessions and then write that up / evaluate it. This Learning Log is assessed while it is completed, and participants have the option of studying at Ofqual Level 2 or 3 for this.
This training can be provided as a standalone option, or as a core part of the SILSA Programme. Completion of the ELKLAN 5-11s course also means that participants can access a number of specialist courses run by ELKLAN.
SILSA Training
The additional SILSA training is only available to participants who have already completed the ELKLAN course (either with us or previously). This training takes place over three full days and includes training in specific aspects of speech and language development / SLCN including stammering, selective mutism and bilingual language development.
Additionally, participants learn how to administer, score and interpret different speech and language screening assessments consisting of a broad ‘overall’ screener, and then more specific assessments looking at sentence construction and grammar, vocabulary, Blank Levels, and speech sound development.
Once completed, these assessments will support identification of pupils with SLCN and will help staff to provide relevant targeted support / intervention for them either individually or in a group. Assessments will also help indicate relevant support strategies for staff working with that pupil in school.
Additionally, assessments can help to identify and prioritise those who may require specialist assessment by a Speech and Language Therapist. The information from the assessments will be useful for any Speech Therapist who goes on to see that child and will help them identify areas for further / specialist assessment. Completion of SILSA training means that participants can now join the SILSA Programme and access ongoing supervision and professional development.