SPEECH, LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION NEEDS (SLCN) COST-EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH PROGRAMME

 

GEOFF LINDSAY¹, JULIE DOCKRELL², JAMES LAW³, and SUE ROULSTONE⁴

with

ANNA VIGNOLES², JENNI BEECHAM⁵, STEVE STRAND¹, AND TONY CHARMAN²

¹CEDAR, ²Institute of Education, University of London (ULIE)), ³Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, ⁴University of West of England, Bristol, ⁵LSE

We are delighted to have been successful in our bid to implement this 3 year £1.5 million DCSF funded research programme. This is part of the government’s positive response to the Bercow Review of provision for children and young people with SLCN published in July 2008, for which we provided a small scale research study and advised the Review Group. The government published its response Better Communication, the speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) action plan in December 2008, which committed to a series of initiatives to improve services for children and young people with SLCN culminating in the National Year of Speech, Language and Communication in 2011.

The research programme will be based in CEDAR with Professor Geoff Lindsay as overall Project Manager. The core team also comprises Professor Julie Dockrell (Institute of Education, University of London (ULIE)), Professor James Law (Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh) and Professor Sue Roulstone (University of West of England, Bristol) as project co-directors. In addition the team comprises Professor Anna Vignoles (ULIE), Professor Jenni Beecham (LSE), Dr Steve Strand (CEDAR), and Professor Tony Charman (ULIE) who will provide specialist inputs to the programme. A number of researchers based at CEDAR and the partner universities will be involved with specific projects over the three years of the Programme.

This is an ambitious programme which will have five separate projects in Year 1. A longitudinal study will be set up to run over the period of the Programme; other projects will be exploratory (e.g. examination of the evidence available to allow detailed cost effectiveness studies) and set the scene for further projects in Years 2 and 3. We shall also be exploring the views of parents and of young people with SLCN. Some later projects may also involve further, specialist researchers/research teams. A Steering Group is being set up by the DCSF to advise on the research programme including the priorities for studies in years 2 and 3.

This is a very exciting, complex research programme and the whole team are delighted to have this opportunity to undertake research that will inform policy in this important area. We shall be developing links with other researchers and stakeholders including the Communication Trust, I CAN, Afasic, local authorities and primary care trusts (in particular speech and language therapy services), as well as engaging with parents and young people with SLCN themselves. We shall publish annual reports of the whole programme and specific research reports over the three years.

Links to the earlier study which informed the Bercow Review are below:-

Research Report
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/DCSF-RW053.pdf

Research Brief
http://publications.dcsf.gov.uk/eOrderingDownload/DCSF-RBW053.pdf

 

Links to the earlier study which
informed the Bercow Review
are below:-

Research Report:-
http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/
research/data/uploadfiles/
DCSF-RW053.pdf

Research Brief:-
http://publications.dcsf.
gov.uk/eOrdering
Download/DCSF-RBW053.pdf