SSLiC programme overview
Strategies on how to support spoken language for all children
Strong language and communication skills are linked to better outcomes for children and young people in school and beyond. Many children arrive at school without the necessary language skills to learn and achieve. Poorer language skills can result in both academic and social difficulties that can prevail through primary and secondary school.
Developed and delivered by experienced practitioners and researchers from the Better Communication Research Programme at the Centre for Inclusive Education (UCL Institute of Education) in 2016, SSLiC supports educational professionals through a process of rethinking the environment of their setting and their practice to enhance the setting’s language provision and ensure better outcomes for all children.
It appealed as a programme because it was well-structured, based on strong research evidence but also because it was flexible, schools could choose what they want to do based on their own need, so it wasn’t a one-size-fits-all programme, and that really appealed to us.
SSLiC equips professionals with the evidence base for good practice and works collaboratively over an academic year to adapt and apply this knowledge to individual settings.
The aims of SSLiC
- Empower educational settings to meet the language learning needs of all their pupils.
- Create systematic change across entire settings.
- Develop understanding of children’s language and communication needs and how they can be supported.
What does SSLiC offer?
- An evidence-based observation tool for settings to profile the communication friendliness of their setting and an audit tool for settings to assess their current practice for supporting language and communication skills.
- Training and action-planning with experienced practitioners and researchers.
- Guidance and evidence-based strategies on how to support language and communication for all children.
- Advice on developing whole setting policy/guidance on supporting the vital links between language, literacy and learning across the curriculum and driving forward attainment and wider educational outcomes.
- Ongoing support on initiating, managing and sustaining change at a whole-setting level.
- A handbook of practice, key research papers, and booklets of case studies demonstrating successful, good practice at other educational settings.
- Ongoing support and staff training by an expert facilitator. SSLiC facilitators are experienced practitioners and researchers who support educational setting improvement in local authorities.
- The chance to collaborate with other settings and engage with leading research and researchers in the field.
Who is SSLiC for?
SSLIC is all about making changes across a setting. SSLiC is aimed at all educational professionals working in early years and primary school settings. This includes teaching assistants, teachers, inclusion managers, and senior leaders.
How long is the programme?
One academic year (September to May).