Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN): A Teacher's Guide
Explore speech, language, and communication needs in the classroom. Identify SLCN, apply support strategies, and foster communication-friendly environments.
What is SLCN?
Speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) affect about 10% of children in UK schools. Many go unnoticed. SLCN covers difficulties with speech sounds, understanding language, using language, and social communication. These difficulties can impact learning, behaviour, and friendships.
Key Takeaways
- The Hidden 10%: Discover why speech and language difficulties affect 1 in 10 pupils, yet most go unnoticed in your classroom
- Beyond Bad Behaviour: Learn why that transformative child might actually be struggling to understand you, not defying you
- Visual Strategies That Work: Transform your teaching with evidence-based visual supports that help SLCN pupils access learning alongside their peers
- The Early Years Advantage: Master 9 practical strategies that create language-rich environments where all children thrive, not survive
This guide helps teachers spot SLCN, understand what it means, and use practical strategies. The goal is to make classrooms work better for all learners.
SLCN is often called a 'hidden disability' because it's hard to see. Children with SLCN may struggle with behaviour and motivation, as well as social and emotional development. They may also find it harder to succeed in school without the right support.
Research suggests SLCN may be linked to how the brain develops. It can also be affected by a child's life experiences and home environment. Both nature and nurture play a role.
Teaching approaches like active learning rely on good communication. Children with SLCN may not benefit fully from these methods without extra support.
Home experiences matter too. Children who grow up in homes with lots of books and conversation tend to develop stronger language skills. This is sometimes called .
Without strong language skills, children may find it hard to succeed in school. Understanding SLCN and oracy development is crucial for helping these children connect with peers and build positive relationships.
How can teachers build cultural capitaland language skills in SLCN pupils?
Teachers can build cultural capital by exposing SLCN pupils to diverse experiences through visual supports, structured discussions, and hands-on activities. Creating language-rich environments with clear visual cues, word walls, and repeated exposure to new vocabulary helps all pupils access learning. Regular use of storytelling, role-play, and collaborative activities provides multiple opportunities for language practice in meaningful contexts.
- Get to know each child and their family. Avoid assumptions about their background or experiences.
- Remember that children show feelings in different ways. Some may express emotions through their behaviour.
- Add materials that reflect different cultures. Use dual-language books, signs in home languages, and diverse vocabulary.
- Share your own culture and the school's history with children. Talk about the skills and interests of staff members.
- Use the local area for learning. Many areas have cultural heritage officers who can help with visits and activities.
What are effective SLCN strategies for Early Years classrooms?
Effective Early Years strategies include using visual timetables, gesture-based communication, and simplified language with repetition. Teachers should create predictable routines, provide thinking time before expecting responses, and use concrete objects to support understanding. Breaking instructions into small steps and using visual prompts helps young children with SLCN follow classroom activities successfully.
Here are nine practical ways to support children with SLCN in settings:
- Create a language-rich space: Fill your room with interesting objects, pictures, and books that spark conversation. Use clear, simple speech.
- Use visual aids: Pictures, symbols, and gestures help children understand instructions. Visual timetables work well for children with language difficulties.
- Give thinking time: After asking a question, wait for children to process and respond. This pause helps children with SLCN.
- Build social skills: Encourage children to play and talk with peers and adults. Role-play and group activities work well.
- Focus on speech sounds: Use rhymes, songs, and games that help children hear and use different sounds with phonics activities.
- Watch for behaviour links: Poor behaviour can sometimes signal communication problems. Addressing SLCN often improves behaviour too.
- Work with families: Parents can support language at home. Share simple strategies they can use each day.
- Try a : Activities using sight, sound, and touch help children learn and remember.
- Seek expert help: If a child keeps struggling, ask a speech and language therapist for support.
For example, you might show a picture of a dog while saying the word. This helps children link the image to the word.
Research suggests 7% to 10% of people worldwide have communication difficulties. This shows why good strategies for SLCN matter in every classroom.
Environmental considerations play a crucial role in Early Years SLCN support. Teachers should create quiet spaces for focused language work, reduce background noise where possible, and ensure visual supports are readily available. The physical environment should encourage communication through well-organised learning areas and accessible resources that children can independently access and discuss.
Repetition and routine are particularly important for young children with SLCN. Daily activities such as register time, snack routines, and transition periods provide natural opportunities for practising language patterns and vocabulary. Teachers should enhance these moments by using consistent phrases, visual schedules, and encouraging peer interaction through structured play activities. For example, snack time can become a rich language learning opportunity when adults model descriptive language about food textures, colours, and tastes.
Play-based learning offers exceptional opportunities for SLCN pupils to develop communication skills naturally. Teachers should join children's play to model language, expand on their utterances, and introduce new vocabulary within meaningful contexts. Small world play, role-play areas, and collaborative construction activities all provide authentic reasons for children to communicate, negotiate, and express their ideas whilst developing essential social communication skills alongside their peers.
What other challenges should teachers consider with SLCN pupils?
Teachers should be aware that SLCN often co-occurs with other conditions like ADHD, dyslexia, or autism spectrum conditions. Environmental factors such as limited language exposure at home, trauma, or frequent school moves can compound communication difficulties. Recognising that many children with SLCN may also have special educational needs helps teachers provide comprehensive support. Additionally, these pupils often benefit from explicit instruction in social-emotional learning skills and targeted support for their wellbeing. Understanding these overlapping challenges allows teachers to develop more effective intervention strategies and work collaboratively with autism specialists, dyslexia support teams, and ADHD specialists when needed.
Social and emotional challenges often accompany SLCN, as pupils may struggle to express their feelings or understand social cues. This can lead to frustration, anxiety, or withdrawal from group activities. Teachers should be alert to these signs and provide alternative ways for pupils to communicate their needs, such as visual emotion cards or quiet reflection time. Building confidence through regular praise for effort rather than just achievement helps SLCN pupils develop resilience and willingness to participate in classroom discussions.
Academic challenges extend beyond English lessons, as language underpins learning across all subjects. Mathematical word problems, science investigations, and humanities discussions all require strong language skills. Teachers should consider how SLCN affects each curriculum area and adapt their questioning techniques, instructions, and assessment methods accordingly. For example, breaking down multi-step instructions into smaller chunks, providing visual supports for key vocabulary, and allowing extra processing time can significantly improve comprehension and participation across the curriculum.
Peer relationships can also be affected when SLCN pupils find it difficult to engage in playground conversations or collaborative group work. Teachers should facilitate structured social interactions and explicitly teach conversation skills, such as turn-taking and active listening. Creating mixed-ability partnerships rather than large groups often works better, as it reduces the linguistic demands while still promoting social learning and friendship development.
How can teachers identify SLCN in their pupils?
Teachers are uniquely positioned to identify SLCN early, as they observe pupils across diverse communication contexts daily. Key indicators include persistent difficulty following multi-step instructions, limited vocabulary for age, frequent misunderstandings during group discussions, and reluctance to participate verbally. Research by Bercow (2008) emphasises that early identification is crucial, as unaddressed SLCN can significantly impact academic progress and social development throughout a child's educational journey.
Effective identification requires systematic observation rather than relying on isolated incidents. Teachers should monitor whether pupils struggle to express ideas clearly, frequently ask for repetition, or demonstrate gaps between their apparent understanding and verbal responses. Additionally, watch for pupils who may mask difficulties through transformative behaviour or withdrawal, as these can be indicators of underlying communication challenges rather than behavioural issues.
Practical classroom strategies for identification include maintaining brief observation notes, collaborating with colleagues to compare cross-curricular performance, and engaging with parents about home communication patterns. Teachers should document specific examples of communication difficulties and consider whether challenges persist across different contexts and subjects, as this comprehensive approach ensures accurate identification and appropriate referral pathways.
What SLCN strategies work best for different age groups?
SLCN strategies must be carefully tailored to developmental stages, as what works effectively for Key Stage 1 pupils may overwhelm secondary learners. Early years and Key Stage 1 pupils benefit from highly visual, concrete approaches including picture cards, gesture-supported instructions, and short, repetitive language patterns. Teachers should use simple sentence structures, provide ample processing time, and embed language learning within play-based activities that feel natural and engaging.
Key Stage 2 pupils can handle more complex linguistic demands but still require structured support. Graphic organisers, vocabulary walls, and explicit teaching of connectives help bridge the gap between simple and sophisticated language use. John Sweller's cognitive load theory demonstrates why breaking down multi-step instructions remains crucial at this stage, preventing working memory overload that particularly affects SLCN pupils.
Secondary SLCN pupils face unique challenges as curriculum language becomes increasingly abstract and subject-specific. Teachers should focus on pre-teaching key vocabulary, providing sentence starters for extended writing, and using peer support systems. Visual timelines, mind maps, and explicit modelling of academic language patterns become essential tools, helping pupils access complex content whilst developing their communication skills within authentic learning contexts.
How should teachers collaborate with speech and language therapists?
Effective collaboration with speech and language therapists transforms SLCN support from fragmented interventions into cohesive, classroom-integrated strategies. Teachers should view therapists as partners who bring specialist knowledge of communication development, whilst educators contribute essential insights about classroom dynamics and curriculum demands. This partnership works best when both parties share observations regularly, align intervention goals with academic objectives, and maintain consistent approaches across different settings.
Practical collaboration involves structured communication channels rather than ad-hoc conversations. Teachers should prepare specific observations about pupils' communication patterns during different activities, noting when difficulties arise and which strategies prove successful. Meanwhile, therapists can provide classroom-ready adaptations of therapeutic techniques, ensuring interventions integrate smoothly into daily lessons rather than requiring separate withdrawal sessions.
The most successful partnerships establish clear roles and expectations from the outset. Teachers might implement recommended language scaffolding during curriculum delivery, whilst therapists focus on developing underlying communication skills that support academic progress. Regular review meetings should evaluate both communication improvements and academic outcomes, as research by Susan Ebbels demonstrates the interconnected nature of language development and educational achievement in SLCN pupils.
How can teachers assess and monitor SLCN pupils' progress?
Effective assessment of SLCN pupils requires teachers to move beyond traditional testing methods and adopt observational and functional approaches that capture real communication in classroom contexts. Rather than relying solely on formal assessments, teachers should systematically observe how pupils use language during different activities, noting patterns in their expressive and receptive communication across various situations and with different communication partners.
Progress monitoring becomes most effective when teachers establish baseline observations and track specific, measurable communication goals over time. Simple documentation methods, such as brief weekly notes on a pupil's participation in group discussions or their ability to follow multi-step instructions, provide valuable evidence of development. Research by Joanne Volden emphasises that meaningful progress indicators often include increased willingness to communicate, improved turn-taking in conversations, and growing confidence in expressing needs and ideas.
Teachers should collaborate closely with speech and language therapists to ensure assessment methods align with intervention targets and therapeutic goals. Regular review meetings allow for adjustment of classroom strategies based on observed progress, whilst structured observation tools can help maintain consistency across different staff members. This collaborative approach ensures that assessment data directly informs teaching decisions and supports continuous improvement in communication outcomes.
