Government backs early intervention with £3.4m investment to support thousands of children
Specialist teams are set to be deployed across primary schools in England in a bid to address the mounting backlog of children waiting for speech and language therapy, worsened by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The initiative comes as part of a £3.4 million investment in the Early Language Support for Every Child (Elsec) programme, announced by the Department for Education. Ministers hope the funding will enable early, targeted interventions for up to 20,000 children by the end of the academic year.
According to Government data, more than 40,000 children had been waiting 12 weeks or longer for essential speech and language therapy as of June 2024. The delays in accessing support are raising concerns about the long-term impact on children’s communication, emotional development, and educational outcomes.
Experts warn that without timely intervention, children may face serious difficulties in their social interactions, school attendance, and academic performance. The situation is particularly acute among pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (Send), who now make up 1.67 million of the school population – up from 1.3 million in 2020. One in four of these children is reported to require specialist speech and language support.
Catherine McKinnell, Minister for School Standards, said the Elsec programme is a vital tool in reversing years of underdiagnosis and unmet need:
“When challenges with speech and language go unnoticed, it can have a devastating impact on children’s attainment, attendance, social abilities and future life chances.
“Elsec is turning this around for so many pupils – and particularly those with Send – helping them find their voice and thrive at school and with their friends and family. This type of approach is exactly what we want to see in a reformed Send system that delivers the support children need at the earliest stage and restores parents’ trust in a system which has let them down for too long.”
The programme brings together speech and language therapists, therapy support workers, and school staff to identify and support children struggling with communication early on, before their needs become more complex or entrenched.
Steve Jamieson, chief executive of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, welcomed the Government’s commitment:
“We’re delighted that the Department for Education and NHS England will fund the Early Language Support for Every Child programme until March 2026.
“It has shown that when speech and language therapists, therapy support workers and education staff work together, they can identify children’s needs earlier and put timely support in place.”
Teachers’ unions and parent advocacy groups have also praised the announcement, but have called for longer-term investment and workforce expansion to match the growing demand.
Julie Morrison, a primary school SENCO in Greater Manchester, said:
“The funding is a lifeline for schools that have been desperately trying to plug the gaps. However, we still face challenges in recruiting enough trained professionals to meet the scale of need. Many children are still falling through the cracks.”
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The Department for Education says the Elsec programme will focus particularly on schools in areas of higher deprivation and lower attainment, where speech delays are more common and often go unnoticed for longer.
As part of the rollout, schools will receive new toolkits to help staff spot signs of speech and language difficulties, alongside regular visits from trained therapists who will work directly with pupils and mentor school staff.
Ministers say the investment forms part of a wider ambition to reform the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities system and ensure earlier access to support services.
While the initiative has been broadly welcomed, campaigners argue that sustained funding beyond 2026 will be necessary to make a lasting impact.
