Bercow: Ten Years On Published in March 2018, the Bercow: Ten Years On report sets out the state of provision for children and young people with SLCN in England in 2018.

Published by the communications charity I CAN and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, Bercow: Ten Years On marks a decade since the publication of The Bercow Report: A Review of Services for Children and Young People (0-19) with Speech, Language and Communication Needs. The report: Describes key developments and achievements since the 2008 report and the implications for children and young people with SLCN Paints a picture of the current ‘state of the nation’ in terms of children and young people’s SLCN Makes recommendations for future action at both local and national level.

What’s changed? Some positive changes since 2008: We now have more evidence about SLCN There is more awareness of SLCN in the justice system But some negative developments too: Austerity, cuts and restructuring of services Changes to the school curriculum And a lot of major changes to the landscape: Reorganisation of NHS Increased autonomy for schools Reforms for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

Evidence Through a combination of surveys, focus groups, oral and written evidence, the review heard the views of more than 2,500 people, including: Professionals – speech and language therapists, teachers, early years practitioners and more Employers Commissioners Parents and carers And most importantly: Children and young people

The voice of children and young people In focus groups with children and young people, we asked them about the support they receive, and what they like and don’t like. They liked it when people: were good at explaining encouraged them made it easy to ask questions made things fun were patient used pictures/visual support checked they understand gave choices gave time to talk didn’t speak too fast gave help with work They didn’t like it when: They was too much teacher talk Teachers shouted People talked too much or were too noisy They had to work in silence There was lots of writing Too much time was spent on “naughty children”

Parents and carers 78% said information about SLCN was either not easily available or not available at all. 42% said their child’s SLCN was noticed too late. 73% said it was difficult to get help for their child. 54% had to wait over six months to get the support they needed 52% said their family’s experience of speech, language and communication support was poor. 59% said services did not work well together A survey of 635 parents and carers of children with SLCN revealed that many had struggled to find the information they needed, to have their child’s needs identified, and then to receive the support they needed – more than half had to wait more than six months to get the support they needed.

Parents and carers “Her downward spiral into the friendless, socially isolated, dependent 17-year-old we have today has been heart- breaking to see.... What has been difficult? Not having R’s needs identified in primary school.” Parent, oral evidence session on low incidence, high need conditions We also heard personal stories from parents, including from this parent who had struggled for years to have her daughter’s needs accurately identified.

Key stats and facts 40% of survey respondents felt that commissioners’ understanding of speech, language and communication required significant improvement. 95% felt that central Government’s contribution to raising standards and improving outcomes for children and young people with SLCN is either not clear or in need of strengthening. Other key stats from our wider survey reveal concerns regarding the availability of speech and language therapy, and the understanding of commissioners and the Government’s role in improving outcomes for children and young people with SLCN.

Five key themes Analysis of all of this evidence led to the five key themes which structure the report and its recommendations…

Communication is crucial Strategic system-wide approaches to supporting SLCN are rare Services are inaccessible and inequitable Support that makes an difference Too many children with SLCN are being missed Communication is crucial to children’s life chances. Yet awareness of its importance among the public and decision makers is not sufficient. 2. Strategic system-wide approaches to supporting SLCN are rare; very often SLCN does not feature in national or local policies. 3. Services are inaccessible and inequitable. Too often support for children’s SLCN is planned and funded based on the available resources, rather than what is needed, leading to an unacceptable level of variation across the country. 4. Support that makes a difference is based on the evidence of what works. However, service design and cuts frequently do not take account of the evidence we have. 5. Too many children with SLCN are being missed, and are not getting the vital support they need.

Recommendations Recommendations for Government and national bodies including: Department for Education Department of Health and Social Care NHS England Youth Justice Board Ofsted CQC Specific, realistic and impactful Under each of these recommendations the report contains recommendations for national Government and system leaders which seek to secure sustainable and embedded change. Each of the recommendations are specific, realistic and impactful – they have been tested with practitioners on the ground to ensure they would make a difference, and with Government officials to ensure they’re practical and achievable.

Social media reaction #Bercow10 #10daysofBercow10 #Bercow10relay National and regional print and broadcast coverage including BBC Radio 5, the Huffington Post, Nursery World and more. Lots of engagement on social media including the Thunderclap reaching 890,000+ on launch day. Engagement on social media has continued, including #10daysofbercow10 which showcased some of the resources on the Bercow Ten Years On website and the #Bercow10relay whereby individuals up and down the country have been showing their support for #Bercow10 Many people have tweeted their support for the report including parents, speech and language therapists and celebrities including Michael Sheen, Sally Phillips and Mary Beard.

Parliamentary reaction The day after the launch of the report, Nick Smith asked a question about the report at Prime Minister’s questions, in response to which Prime Minister Theresa May welcomed the report, and committed to look very carefully at what it says and respond in due course. Rebecca Pow MP has raised the report in both Health and Education Questions. Rebecca also led a debate on speech, language and communication support for children on 4th July. Many other MPs and peers have shown their support for the report, including: Seema Malhotra MP wrote a blog for Huffington Post and posted a video on social media. Preet Kaur Gill MP has written to both the Prime Minister and the Health Minister. Lord Shinkwin has tables a series of written questions on the report recommendations.

The petition RCSLT member Gillian Rudd has tabled a petition on the parliament website calling on the Government to implement the recommendations of the report. On 22 June the petition reached 10,000 signatures, and on the 2 July the Government issued its response.

Government response

Join the national campaign Sign and share the petition: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/215643 - until 26 September 2018 Use the hashtag #Bercow10 for any posts on social media (and #Bercow10relay for any posts with the speech bubble) Write to your MP: https://www.bercow10yearson.com/influencers-slts/ You can help the national campaign by signing the petition, sharing your support on social media, or writing to your MP. Tips on contacting your MP, including a template letter, are available on the Bercow Ten Years On website.

Bottom up Top down we also learnt through the review that some of the most powerful changes happen when there are inspirational teams or passionate individuals, who make changes happen at a local level. So the Bercow Ten Years On website contains calls to action for local leaders, as well as bold first steps for everyone, and dedicated pages for: Children and young people Parents and carers Early years settings Schools and colleges Speech and language therapists Commissioners

Think global, act local You could: Audit your school or service against the features of effective practice. Use the discussion starters in a team meeting. Share information about local prevalence with people who make decisions about SLCN support. Ask children and young people how they prefer to be supported. Resources to support local actions are available from www.bercow10yearson.com/supporting-change/ There are lots of resources to support you to take action locally on the Bercow: Ten Years On website.

Thank you! www.bercow10yearson.com #Bercow10