Speech and Language Therapy North Essex

We are the provider for the NHS children’s Speech and Language Service in North Essex which includes Colchester and Tendring.

The North Essex Children’s Speech and Language Therapy Service provides support and assistance to children and young people who are experiencing difficulties with speech, language, understanding, talking, communication and with feeding & swallowing.

We do this through a child and family centred approach to the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of speech, language, communication and feeding & swallowing difficulties in children and young people.

We offer support for children aged 0 to 19 years where communication difficulties are impacting their ability to fully participate in daily life.

We offer support to children with swallowing and complex feeding difficulties at any age following referral by a health professional.

More Information

How can we help?

We work together with parents, carers and the team around the child, seeing children in a variety of community settings, for example in our family hubs, clinics, pre-school and schools, or at home for some children with additional needs.

We recognise the importance of helping you to help your child, and working alongside those who spend the most time with your child.

Our work includes training and supporting parents, teachers and health professionals to meet each child’s communication or feeding and swallowing needs within their everyday life.

Guidance and Helpful Information

If you think your child has difficulties with speech, language or communication, please use the advice sheets below and suggested weblinks. These advice sheets will give you ideas to support and encourage your child’s development.

Attention and listening advice sheet

First sounds advice sheet

First words advice sheet

Sentence building advice sheet

Stammering advice sheet

Useful Videos

What happens next? - Pre School Aged Children

We offer pre-school drop-in for parents and carers of Pre-School children who have a North East Essex GP. This provides easy access to our Speech and Language Therapy service without the need for a formal referral.

The drop-ins are held:

Every Tuesday 09:00am-12:00pm at Berechurch Family hub , Colchester CO2 8NN
1^st and 3^rd Wednesday of the month 12:30pm – 3:00pm at Greenstead community centre Colchester CO4 3QE
Every 2^nd and 4^th Thursday of the month 09:00am-12:00pm at Sydney House family hub , Clacton , CO16 7PA
1^st Friday of the month – 10:00am-13:00pm, Harwich House , Mayflower Primary School , Harwich , CO12 4AJ

When you attend you will be asked to complete a case history form. A therapist will then assess your child through discussion , observation and play. You will be given some ideas to help you support to support your child’s speech, language and communication at home. Your child will then be offered the most appropriate input.

We also run a telephone drop-in, which parents and carers can access as an alternative to the face-to-face drop in. To access, please phone 01206 372 059. The phone line will be open on 2^nd and 4^th Wednesday of the month from 9.00am-11.00am. A member of the SLT team will listen to your concerns, and if appropriate, allocate you a telephone appointment later in the day with a Speech and Language Therapist.

Please note, these drop-in clinics are for parents of children with speech, language and communication issues, not feeding difficulties. They are only for parents and legal guardians, not professionals.

Our drop-ins are run on a first-come first-served basis; if all our slots are full, you will be asked to attend/call on an alternative day. In exceptional circumstances, we will accept a referral form from a professional. Please see the referral form below.

What happens next? - School Aged Children

School staff are very skilled at supporting children with speech, language or communication difficulties. If you have concerns about your child’s speech, language or communication development please first discuss these with your child’s teacher or SENCo. There may be additional support they can offer your child in school. School staff may be able to give you ideas of how you can also help your child at home.

If your child is not already on our Speech and Language Therapy caseload a referral to us may be appropriate. In most cases we require information about what support your child’s school has already put in place. Your child’s class teacher or the school SENCo is therefore often the best person to make a referral.

The main purpose of our assessment is to provide guidance on achieving next steps when targeted intervention is not resulting in the expected progress. We do not undertake assessment where there are appropriate targeted interventions yet to be implemented or where the targeted interventions are achieving the expected positive outcomes for the child. Referrals that do not include Assess, Plan, Do, Review documentation will therefore not be accepted. School staff should refer to the ‘Ordinarily Available Targeted Support’ on the Essex County Council website SEND – Ordinarily Available (essex.gov.uk) and to our ‘Guidance and helpful information’ section on our website for suggested interventions and strategies to implement.

School staff are also encouraged to visit Essex County Council’s Speech and Language Portal Essex Speech and Language Portal – Essex Speech and Language Portal to access a range of information and support.

If your child is already on our Speech and Language Therapy caseload and you want to update us on your child’s progress or share any concerns about their progress with speech, language or communication, you are welcome to contact us on 0300 247 0015 Option 2.

Information for referrals

Please read the information below before submitting a referral.

Referrals for School age children with speech, language or communication difficulties

In most cases we require information about what the class teacher or SENCo has already put in place to support the child’s speech, language or communication development. We therefore encourage school staff to make the referral for children presenting with speech sound difficulties, language difficulties or social communication difficulties.

Community referrals for children with feeding difficulties

Referral to our feeding and swallowing specialist Therapists must be made by a health professional.

Please complete the referral form and email it to the administration centre. We aim to see all urgent feeding referrals within 15 working days and non-urgent referrals within two months.