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Activity Pack No Pens Day Wednesday Your guide to running the day 15 October 2014 Put down your pens and pick up your language!

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Page 1: 15 October 2014 No Pens Day Wednesday · No Pens Day Wednesday encourages schools to put down their pens and pick up their language by spending one day ... seconds after asking a

Activity Pack

No Pens Day Wednesday

Your guide to running the day

15 October 2014

Put down your pensand pick up your language!

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Welcome to your No Pens Day Wednesday activity packNo Pens Day Wednesday encourages schools to put down their pens and pick up their language by spending one day focusing on learning through speaking and listening. Thank you for signing up and getting involved. Contents

All about No Pens Day Wednesday _________________ page 3

Why run a No Pens Day Wednesday? _______________ page 4

Encouraging effective talk in your school ____________ page 7

Effective talk in: Early years __________________________________ page 8 Primary _____________________________________ page 9 Secondary and Post 16 ______________________page 10

Getting ready for the day ________________________page 13

How to run your No Pens Day Wednesday __________page 17

Outcomes _____________________________________page 14

Spread the word ________________________________page 18

Taking it further _________________________________page 19

Next steps _____________________________________page 20

No Pens Day Wednesday 15 October

2014

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No Pens Day Wednesday is a national speaking and listening event organised by The Communication Trust. The Trust is a coalition of nearly 50 voluntary organisations with expertise in speech, language and communication, who support the children’s workforce to develop the skills of the children they work with.

Now in it’s 4th year, No Pens Day Wednesday is more popular than ever. Last year we had almost 2,500 schools signed up, resulting in combined pupil numbers of an estimated 1 million plus!

In 2014 we’ve retained our focus on mainstream primary and secondary settings. However, due to the SEND Reforms we’re providing additional resources for SEN and across a broader age range. This will include materials for early years settings and special schools, helping to support all settings in delivering the SEND reforms and in particular to prioritise communication for pupils with SEND.

We’ve got lots of new resources, ideas and guidance to help you run your day. If you haven’t already, register now at www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/nopensdaywednesday to access them.

Just a note... If Wednesday 15th October doesn’t work for your school, you can run your No Pens Day at any time - the resources will stay on our website.

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All about No Pens Day Wednesday No Pens Day Wednesday 15 October

2014

‘I’m delighted No Pens Day Wednesday has taken off in such a big way... It means

school leaders and teachers are really getting the importance of speech, language and

communication as the key to being an outstanding school, and to narrowing the gap between

disadvantaged children and their peers.’ Jean Gross, former Communication

Champion

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Why run a No Pens Day Wednesday?2014 Activity Pack

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No Pens Day Wednesday 15 October

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Because strong language skills and good communication are key to good outcomes for all children and young people...

Of all the skills we develop at school, the ability to communicate effectively is the one that has the most profound and potentially positive impact on our lives. Communication is at the core of what we do: at home, in work, at school and socially. Strong language skills and good communication are key to whole-school improvement, progression and attainment and supporting children and young people to develop these skills is vital. For children and young people with SEND, a focus on communication can help support inclusion and independence.

Good spoken language skills are strong predictors of later academic success. Children with poor language and literacy development at 5 are at substantial risk of low achievement at 7 and beyond.

At the end of Key Stage 4, the ‘attainment gap’ between children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) and their peers is marked. Just 13% of young people with SLCN achieve 5 GCSE A*- C grades or equivalent compared to 59% of all young people. The attainment gap for children and young people with SLCN is growing and has widened by 7% since 2008.

Language ability can also impact massively on behavioural and emotional development; language levels directly impact on self-regulation skills of children and therefore on their behaviour.

Ensuring high quality language teaching and learning should reduce the numbers of children and young people who require specialist language support.

Conversations between adults and children characterised by high quality language learning interactions really make a difference. High quality classroom talk is a key factor in improving pupil engagement and outcomes.

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Why run a No Pens Day Wednesday?2014 Activity Pack

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‘The children absolutely loved the No Pens Day. They really enjoyed having

the opportunity to talk more and not having the pressure to record things in

writing all the time. Some of the activities also really highlighted the importance of

speaking and making yourself clearly understood.’

‘In our school I felt that the fact it was a whole school approach was the best thing about No Pens Day. We broke

away from the normal timetable routine and organised different workshops throughout the day. There was a great buzz around the

school as the students were so engaged in the different workshops and

activities.’

Our evaluation in 2013 showed that;

89% said that taking part in NPDW raised their awareness of SLCN

69% said they’d do things differently around school as a result of their involvement

Over 10% of respondents said they were hoping to run NPDW more regularly in their school now

‘A really wonderful day in school which I feel is just the start of embedding speaking and listening throughout the

curriculum. Thank you for making it possible!’

No Pens Day Wednesday 15 October

2014

‘Staff are more aware about the importance of good quality talk and discussion as well as planning those opportunities

carefully.’

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Why run a No Pens Day Wednesday?2014 Activity Pack

No Pens Day Wednesday 15 October

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Because in 2014 a high quality focus on speaking and listening for all pupils will help your school or setting engage with the SEND Reforms and other national policies...

The 2014 SEN Code of Practice comes into effect in September 2014. Communication and interaction is one of the four broad areas of need that schools and settings are required to plan for.

A key focus of the new Code is on high quality teaching for all pupils including those with SEN. High quality teaching requires teachers to have a strong understanding of strategies to both identify and support pupils who are struggling.

No Pens Day Wednesday provides a range of resources and information to help you deliver lessons with a high quality focus on pupil’s communication skills. It can help you identify those who may be struggling and support them. Through No Pens Day Wednesday we’ll also signpost you to resources available to embed this high quality approach to communication further across your school.

More broadly than the SEND Reforms other key national policies also reflect the importance of speaking and listening with both the Ofsted Framework and Teachers Standards requiring settings to provide quality teaching of speaking and listening skills.

‘A fun and different way to appreciate learning through

speaking and listening activities - especially for SEN

pupils.’

‘Taking part in No Pens Day helped to draw staff’s attention

not just to the importance of Communication and Language skills, but

also to finding other ways to meet children’s individual needs when presenting the

curriculum. Staff had to think about how to engage children using a variety

of approaches.’

‘Teachers were able to see a wide ability of children respond positively to a range of activities. It was great to see children who are often quiet in lessons becoming

more confident and taking the lead within group activities. ’

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No Pens Day Wednesday will enable teachers to give pupils opportunities throughout the day to develop their communication skills and use them to support their learning.

We know from a range of research that pupils are more likely to get enthusiastically involved in their education, and learn best from it when teachers support and enable effective use of speaking and listening to support learning.

We also know that key components of communication, such as a good vocabulary, can make a big difference to a child’s achievement at school and beyond. And there are benefits for you too - no pens means no marking!

Whether you work in an early years setting, a school or college or specialist provision, there are a number of ways for you to support effective speaking and listening. Over the next five pages we’ve got some key principles of effective speaking and listening for different settings... >>

Encouraging effective talk in your school or setting

‘A child who has limited vocabulary and difficulty communicating will

not be ready for school and will often lag behind their peers for the rest of

their time in education.’ Ofsted, Good practice in school readiness report,

2014‘Few children will achieve their true potential unless

they learn to negotiate their ideas with other people

through talk.’ Dawes, 2008

No Pens Day Wednesday 15 October

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1. Talk about what’s interesting, as young children will be more motivated to talk and learn new words associated with a topic they enjoy. Follow their lead in play to increase motivation to communicate, build on and extend their ideas to develop their attention, play and language skills.

2. Consider non-verbal communication, as some young children may still be relying on non – verbal ways to communicate. Be aware of and respond to other effective ways that children may be communicating with you; eye contact, gesture, facial expression are all a means of communication. Use your own non-verbal communication to support children’s understanding of spoken language.

3. Provide opportunities for talk by giving children time, this allows them to process what you have said, and to plan what they would like to say. Think about the balance of conversation during play and structured activities.

4. Be careful of questions – model, comment and scaffold. Children learn from adult models, modelling the correct sound, word or sentence structure is helpful for children, and extending what they say is a great way to build their vocabulary. Questions can sometimes feel like a test, so using comments to model language can be more effective for some children.

5. Match your language by keeping your language level at the same level or slightly above the child you are communicating with – too much language will be overwhelming for children who are still early on in their language development, too little for those who are progressing well with language won’t allow them opportunities to extend their skills.

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Effective talk in early yearsNo Pens Day Wednesday 15 October

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1. Allow pupils time to think about information given, refine what they want to say, express their thoughts and identify their misunderstandings. Use the 10 second rule – wait around 10 seconds after asking a question before prompting pupils for an answer.

2. Give opportunities for talk, either to a partner or in a small group, to encourage all pupils to check their understanding, put new knowledge into their own words and/or to reflect on and clarify thoughts. During whole class discussion, allow opportunities for talk by holding back demonstrations and explanations to allow children’s ideas to be heard. It’s helpful to set ground rules for small group and whole class dialogue to encourage collaborative and not competitive discussion.

3. Use classroom talk to develop thinking skills, try using ‘why’ and ‘how’ questions instead of ‘who’ and ‘what’ to develop problem solving skills and extend thinking using language.

4. Support vocabulary development, using strategies like explicitly teaching the meaning of important vocabulary and using context clues with new vocabulary e.g. during whole class story or guided reading, ask children to talk in partners about new words and what they mean to them.

5. Encourage children to say when they’ve not understood – develop a culture that acknowledges the importance of making mistakes and of seeking clarification. Demonstrate what children can say if they haven’t understood and ways that they can check out their own understanding.

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Effective talk in primaryNo Pens Day Wednesday 15 October

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1. Encourage collaborative, purposeful discussion. Small group dialogue allows students to discuss their ideas, clarify their understanding, question one another and reflect on their learning. Model language during whole class discussion that enables these skills.

2. Use talk to support independent learning. We all use self talk to help us to complete tasks independently. Reporting or presenting on completed tasks can ensure that language is built into independent activities.

3. Ask open and reasoning questions to develop thinking and problem solving skills. Open questions allow students to explore their ideas and elaborate and justify their views, for example ‘How did you know that?’ Just asking ‘Why...’ can really develop pupils’ thinking.

4. Support vocabulary development by using strategies to explicitly teach the meaning of important vocabulary and use of key words for learning (words like compare, analyse and define) and for subject specific vocabulary. Encouraging students to use the new vocabulary they’ve heard will facilitate understanding and allow it to become ‘their own’.

5. Encourage young people to say when they’ve not understood – acknowledge the importance of making mistakes and of seeking clarification when unsure. Whole group plenary discussions following group work can be used as a way to allow students to check their own understanding and correct any misunderstandings.

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Effective talk in secondary and post 16No Pens Day Wednesday 15 October

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The following principles are useful to consider for children and young people who have communication needs associated with more significant learning needs, autistic spectrum disorders or complex needs.

These are general principles that support communication for children with more significant needs. However, though it sounds obvious, one of the most important factors is knowing children’s levels of communication as well as their preferred means of communication.

1. Share knowledge about children’s communication across your school or setting. A great way to do this is to create a “Communication Passport.” This can be a brilliant way of involving children and parents as well as ensuring everyone has the same information. Check out this website for free resources www.communicationpassports.org.uk/Home/

2. Use strategies to support understanding. Pupils can be helped by gaining their attention first and breaking down longer instructions into ‘chunks’. Using clear and simple vocabulary and sentence structures that are based in the ‘here and now’ and allowing time for pupils to process spoken language are also important for understanding.

3. Encourage the development of expressive communication by repeating useful, new vocabulary in different contexts and reinforcing new words, ideas and information wherever possible. Respond to and interpret pupils’ communication attempts to build confidence with using intentional expressive communication. Use visual support such as signs, symbols, objects of reference or systems such as PECS where appropriate.

4. Avoid ambiguous, non-literal language. Sarcasm, idioms and inference can be difficult to understand, which can result in anger and frustration. Be clear with instructions and responses, for example rather than ‘I’ll be with you in a second’; try ‘I’m talking to Keisha now. After that I’ll come to you.’

5. Encourage and facilitate social interaction. Offer opportunities for children to interact with each other. Some pupils will need guidance around social situations and may need adult support to generalise skills that have been taught in social groups or through the use of social stories. Practice for communication needed in real life situations, such as independent travel, can be incredibly useful for older pupils.

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Effective talk in specialist settingsNo Pens Day Wednesday 15 October

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Implementing these principles may not always be easy, so prepare yourself for challenges along the way. Creating the right classroom climate for talk can take time. Some teachers are naturally brilliant at doing this. Their students come to appreciate the educational value of talk themselves, and will not feel embarrassed to express tentative ideas or reasonable disagreements.

Teachers need to be good models for children and young people on how to use talk for thinking. Research has shown that when children are helped to understand talk as a problem-solving and learning tool, and given guidance in developing skills in using it, the quality of their talk and group work improves and so do the individual learning outcomes and attainment. In the early years, developing effective language skills provides the crucial foundation for later learning.

For children whose out-of-school lives give them little exposure to reasoned discussion, or a rich language learning environment, this can be a life-changing experience.

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No Pens Day Wednesday 15 October

2014

‘Communication is the holy grail, it’s the missing part of the education jigsaw.’ - Neil Wilson, Former Executive Head, SMILE Federation

Foundation Trust

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Here’s some information to help you prepare for No Pens Day Wednesday or Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Friday if another day suits you better!

Visit the website and register

On our website at www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/nopensdaywednesday you can register to access all the resources we’ve developed to help you run your No Pens Day Wednesday.

You’ll find lesson plans, activity ideas, assembly ideas, information for staff, information for parents, promotional materials and resources from our members.

Lesson plans and activitytemplates

There are a large number of lesson plans and activity templates for you to use.

We’ve produced new lesson plans for 2014 and all those that we’ve had for previous years remain available- giving you a wide range to choose from.

Lesson plans – We have lesson plans available across the settings and key stages. We’ve tried to provide a broad range so that you can adapt and build on the ideas presented in them for your subject and pupils. Though there are more lesson plans for some years than others, this is not to limit your No Pens Day Wednesday at all. We hope you will use the plans to build speaking and listening focussed lessons across the whole school using our plans as a springboard.

Activity templates – in addition to lesson plans, we’ve provided activity templates, which are more generic and can be adapted to any lesson. There are a range of activities with information about each, including how it can be implemented, highlighting any resources / links that might be useful to support that activity. These activities can be used within any element of a lesson - as a starter activity, main activity, plenary or as methods of recording learning.

Download the plans and templates at www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/nopensdaywednesday

Getting ready for the day2014 Activity Pack

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No Pens Day Wednesday 15 October

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How to run your No Pens Day Wednesday2014 Activity Pack

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Confirm who’ll lead on plans for the day

Book in a staff meeting to inform other teachers about No Pens Day Wednesday

Download the activity pack and other resources at www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/nopensdaywednesday

Familiarise yourself with the documents and consider whether you want to use or adapt the lesson plans provided or plan your own lessons using the ideas on the templates

Decide on who’ll run the assembly for pupils

Consider whether you’ll have competitions / presentations in school to encourage the pupils to get involved

If you would like to let your local newspaper or local T.V. news channel know you’re running a No Pens Day Wednesday then you can download press templates and a media advice toolkit from www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/nopensdaywednesday

Plan in time to get permissions from parents for children and young people to be photographed during No Pens Day Wednesday. This will save you time after the day and means you can use the photo’s around school, in your newsletter, on your website and of course send them into us!

Plan in reflection after the day to look at lessons learned, next steps and if you would like to run another No Pens Day Wednesday

Three weeks before your No Pens Day Wednesday:

No Pens Day Wednesday 15 October

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Ensure all teachers have discussed with their pupils the plans to participate in No Pens Day Wednesday, including seeking their views on taking part and asking their ideas on how the day should be run

Ensure all staff are aware of the day

Identify ‘a budding photographer’ in your school or community who can take pictures of your No Pens Day Wednesday activity

Send a letter to parents – we’ve provided a template for you to use on the website; you may decide to invite parents into the school assembly or to see what’s happening in the classrooms

Prepare your own certificates for the day (if using)

Plan the lessons you’ll run using the examples provided at www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/nopensdaywednesday, ensure any additional resources you need are prepared

Make sure you’ve thought about differentiation ideas for pupils who struggle with their speaking and listening and have included this information in your planning

Put information in your newsletter for parents and in the news section of your website

Take time to familiarise yourself with our case study template which you can find on our website so you can send in feedback and stories to us

Plan where and when you’ll gather pupil views on the day; see our suggestions on how to do this on page 17

Set up a blog or podcast that the teachers and pupils can access. Use this to share ideas about what you and other teachers are planning to do on the day, get the pupils’ views, share with other schools and look at ways to continue this work

Two weeks before your No Pens Day Wednesday: One week before your No Pens Day Wednesday:

2014 Activity PackNo Pens Day Wednesday 15 October

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Begin with the assembly explaining to pupils what will happen on the day; you can download examples from www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/nopensdaywednesday

Use the materials provided on our website to run your exciting No Pens Day Wednesday

Note the impact on pupils’ engagement and learning

Ask pupils’ views during the day; discuss the benefits of not using pens, alternative activities used and places where it would be useful to write things down – ensure you capture these views by writing them down or recording them

Plan a follow up assembly/sharing pupils’ work – you might chose to do this on another day/ invite parents etc

If you have invited your local newspaper or T.V. news channel along for part of the day, have one person, who leads on liaising with local media, speak to them about what they need. For example, they may want to set up a specific photo with staff and children or talk to a child/teacher/parent about their views on the day

We’d love to see any photos or videos that you take on the day so we can show others how successful your No Pens Day Wednesday was. Please send to [email protected]

Present results / certificates at end of week in an assembly

Use a staff meeting to reflect on the best and most challenging elements of the day and share pupils views with each other; see suggested approaches on page 17

Decide on what you’ll continue with – maybe more No Pens Day Wednesday activities or look at focusing more closely on communication throughout the school

Take your speaking and listening focus even further by looking at the other resources we have available. In particular you might want to look at The Communication Commitment to help you build on your whole school approach to communication

Share your experiences using our case study template. Email your templates along with any photo’s you’re happy to share – [email protected] We’re keen to share information about the great work going on!

Send a press release with a couple of the best pictures to your local media and any other important contacts. Please do also send them to us – [email protected] to help us keep track of the media activity

Update your blog if you started one with your thoughts about the day, how well the activities went, what you learnt and what the pupils thought

On the day: After the day :

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Outcomes2014 Activity Pack

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One of the most important parts of the day is the reflection it will prompt, from both pupils and teachers, about what worked for them and what didn’t.

Putting the views of children and young people at the heart of what you do is also central to the 2014 SEND reforms. It’s really important to build it into your planning for No Pens Day Wednesday and going forward is essential.

For pupils, we suggest opportunities are built into the day to ask their views about different lessons and activities.

You could use the questions here for discussion on the day and to evaluate the day.

Pupil Voice

1. Which were the best activities during No Pens Day and why? You could use examples and traffic lights/smiley faces to encourage pupils to judge which were best.

2. Which were the best lessons...and why?

3. Were there times when you wanted to write things down? If so when would that have been useful?

4. What do you think of this way of learning? Would you like your teachers to do more activities like this or less? Thumbs up or thumbs down?

For teaching staff, we suggest some time is given after the day to work through the following questions, both to evaluate and share positive practice and to determine next steps for supporting speaking and listening in school.

Reflections on the day1. What were the most challenging

elements of the day?

2. What worked well – what activities, principles, lessons?

3. What were pupils’ views on the day?

4. What was the impact on learning?

5. Did the day give you any new insights into particular pupils?

6. Any surprises?

Choose elements of the day you’ll use again, for example;

1. Try one new activity from the activity templates per half term until it’s embedded in your teaching

2. Support colleagues to do the same

3. Include discussion on ‘speaking and listening’ across the curriculum in staff meetings to maintain momentum

This may be your third or fourth No Pens Day Wednesday or it may be the first of many! If you have any suggestions for ways we can improve No Pens Day Wednesday please let us know at [email protected]

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Spread the word2014 Activity Pack

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We’ve got lots of guidance and templates to help you spread the word about your No Pens Day Wednesday far and wide;

• Template letter for parents

• Flyers to send home to parents

• Posters to display around school

• Template press release

• No Pens Day Wednesday one pager

• eComms Toolkit

• Media Toolkit

All of these materials are available for you to access on our website – www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/nopensdaywednesday

No Pens Day Wednesday 15 October

2014We’re puttingdown our pensand picking up our language!

Our school is taking part in No Pens Day Wednesday, a national event where every lesson will be focused on learning through speaking and listening activities.

No Pens Day Wednesday 15 October 2014

No Pens Day Wednesday is being run by The Communication Trust, to find out more

and register please go to www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/nopensdaywednesday

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2014 Activity Pack

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We hope that taking part in No Pens Day Wednesday has raised the importance of speech, language and communication and SLCN in your setting.

To take your setting further, register for our free Communication Commitment resource and follow the three steps to support you towards a whole school approach to communication.

We know that the most effective way to embed really good practice to support communication development in our schools is to take a whole school approach. The Communication Commitment provides school leaders with the resources needed to do just that.

It provides everything you need to assess where you’re at currently, what key actions will take you forward and provides free resources to support you to achieve them. It then signposts on to our expert member organisations who offer accreditation and training programmes for settings that feel ready to invest further in their whole school approach.

We’re also updating the Commitment site and resources to support schools using it to engage with the SEND reforms. It’s another really practical way you can get to grips with the changes happening and prioritise communication for all pupils including those with SEN in your school.

You can find out more about the Commitment and register to take a look or get involved here – www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/commitment

No Pens Day Wednesday 15 October

2014Taking it further

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Next steps2014 Activity Pack

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Tell us about your No Pens Day Wednesday!

Thank you for taking part in No Pens Day Wednesday, we hope your pupils and colleagues enjoyed taking part and will plan lots more similar days. We’d love to hear how No Pens Day Wednesday worked in your school.

Please send any comments, photos and videos to [email protected].

Get further information and advice

We are a Consortium of nearly 50 voluntary organisations who provide specialist expert support around speech, language and communication. To find out more about our members go to www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/partners

You can also download our Catalogue of products and services available from our Consortium members and search by age, stage and wave. Please go to www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/consortiumcatalogue to view.

Keep running No Pens Day Wednesdays

This doesn’t have to be a one-off activity, if your pupils enjoyed it and you can see the difference it’s made with them and the teaching staff, then you can No Pens Day Wednesday whenever you can! You may wish to make this a termly activity or even a weekly activity focusing on speaking and listening would be fantastic.

‘The children have given lots of feedback about what they liked about the day and

teachers are already adapting their lessons to include some of these activities. We have set aside a future staff meeting to share some of the things we have learnt on the day and to share some of the good practice we have in

this area.’ NPDW 2013 school

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Our other work to support you in your school2014 Activity Pack

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We have a wide range of resources to support you in school to identify typical language development and support those who

are struggling.

The Progression Tools are our newest school based resource and aim to support teaching staff

to identify children who may be struggling to develop their speech, language and communication skills. They can also be used to track progression of these skills.

To download and order our resources please go to www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/resources

The What Works database brings together for the first time the evidence

base for speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) interventions to help you find the most appropriate support for the children and young people you work with.

To find out more please go to www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/whatworks

Talk of the Town (TOTT) is an

integrated, community led approach to supporting speech, language and communication.

By responding to the needs of the local community, TOTT follows a systematic process to embed strategies and achieve measurable positive outcomes for children and young people. This community-led programme includes consultation, workforce development, provision and sustainability planning.

Contact us to find out more.

For more information please go to www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/talkofthetown

The Communication Commitment is an interactive website that

supports schools to improve their whole school approach to communication. There’s more information on page 19 and on our website www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/commitment

We are a Consortium of nearly 50 voluntary organisations who provide specialist expert support around speech,

language and communication. Download our Catalogue which lists the products and services available from our Consortium. To download please go to www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/consortiumcatalogue

Find out about more about our work here www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk

No Pens Day Wednesday 15 October

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Speech, Language and Communication Progression ToolAge 5-6

Speech, Language and Communication Progression ToolAge 7-8

Copyright owned by The Communication Trust

www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk

Speech, Language and Communication Progression Tool

Age 4

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The Communication Trust is a coalition of nearly 50 voluntary and community organisations with expertise in speech, language and communication. We harness our collective expertise to support the children’s workforce and commissioners to support all children and young people’s communication skills, particularly those with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN).

We do this by raising awareness, providing information and workforce development opportunities, influencing policy, promoting best practice among the children’s workforce and commissioning work from our members.

The Trust was founded in 2007 by children’s charities Afasic and I CAN together with BT and the Council for Disabled Children.

www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk

Published June 2014

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