Thornbury is a primary school of approximately 300 pupils in Plymouth, South West UK, and is part of Connect Academy Trust. We have the privilege of hosting the Language Support Centre for the city, with 21 places for children with suspected or confirmed diagnoses of DLD (Developmental Language Disorder). DLD is a hidden disability which affects many more people than is widely realised, and which replaced the term Specific Language Impairment. A useful summary of the disability can be found on the RADLD website: ‘A DLD diagnosis can be given when a child has difficulties talking and/or understanding language.’
DLD should not be diagnosed too early, as there can be many reasons why a child might present with related difficulties, some of them part of their development. In our local authority (LA), children are put forward to a panel which looks carefully at their case studies. When viewed over the years, it is noticeable that children being put forward for the four places per cohort are more complex, with other co-existing difficulties – although for entry to our provision, Communication and Interaction must be the primary need.
The presentation can be variable from pupil to pupil. For example, we have two similarly aged pupils, one with receptive language difficulties (receiving and understanding language) and one with both receptive and expressive language difficulties (the ability to express language). Our pupils are rarely those with difficulties with speech sounds alone.
We also have to determine which pupils will make the most of the places on offer. Our provision is integrated across the mainstream school – pupils do not have 1-1 support, which they might receive with an education, health and care plan (EHCP) in their local mainstream school. Consequently, our children need to be able to manage working in a group and to be able to have a degree of independence in some areas of the curriculum.
Due to the need for later diagnosis, our children do not need an EHCP for entry into Foundation or Years 1 and 2. They are therefore usually taken on a two-term assessment place. This allows us, with the intensive early support we put in place, to assess whether the pupil is currently appropriately placed or might be better supported in their mainstream setting.