Our services
Speech and Language Therapy – children and young people

About the service
Our Speech and Language Therapy team provides specialist advice and support for families of children and young people aged 18 months to 18 years who live in Bradford and have speech, language or communication needs. These include:
- early communication – including Makaton signs, intensive interaction, objects of reference and echolalia
- hearing loss or deafness
- stammering
- voice disorders
- Developmental Language Disorder (DLD).
We also support children and young people with eating, drinking and swallowing problems.
If you’re unsure what to expect in terms of a child’s speech and language development, please visit the ages and stages section of the Speech and Language UK website for a helpful overview. For under fives, you may also find the Talking Bradford Speech and Language pathway useful as it maps support offered across Bradford district.
Our ‘how you can help‘ tab below takes you to information, advice and strategies to support your child with their speech, language and communication skills according to their age. There are many other helpful sources of support under the ‘useful resources‘ tab too.
If you’re a professional, please see the ‘for professionals‘ tab below for relevant information.
How to access
Our Speech and Language Therapy team has an advice line for parents, carers and families. Please note, the advice line is for advice only, it cannot be used for referrals – please see the ‘what to expect’ tab below for referral information.
If you are already known to us – please call 01274 221166 to book an appointment for a 25-minute call.
If you have not used our services before – please use the QR code to book an appointment for a 25-minute call
If you’re a professional looking for advice or how to refer, please see the professionals tab below.
How to find us
We have over 70 members of staff working in lots of different places including community clinics, nurseries, schools and children’s own homes.
Contact
Please use our advice line to contact us for advice, or email speechandlanguagetherapy@bdct.nhs.uk
Use the tabs below to explore this section further.
What to expect
Referral
Before you refer your child to our service, we ask you to select the ‘how you can help’ tab and try the appropriate ideas and activities given for your child’s age, for a period of 10 weeks. Our advice line can support you with this (see ‘how to access our service’ above for contact details).
If your child is still not making progress with their speech, language and communication, it may be appropriate for them to be referred to us for specialist support.
We recommend you ask your child’s health visitor or nursery to complete a screening to check your child’s needs are appropriate for our service. They can also help you to complete our referral form, which should include details of the different strategies you have already tried for at least 10 weeks.
If you wish to discuss this further, please contact our parent advice line (see ‘how to access’ for contact details) but please be aware, the advice line is only for advice and cannot be used for referrals.
Waiting list
If your child’s referral is accepted, they will be placed on our waiting list for an assessment.
How you can help
Please select your child’s age group below and click through for ideas and activities to try at home and when you are out and about to support your child to understand language, talk and interact socially.
Three to three and a half years
Three and a half to four years
Useful resources
The Talking Bradford Speech and Language Pathway – your guide to what Bradford district has to offer to support your child
Family Hubs – Bradford district, Keighley and Shipley – lots of services for families from conception, through childhood to young people.
Speech and language UK – advice line for parents and carers and ‘talking with your toddler’ webinar series.
Afasic Helpline for parents – a ‘listening ear’, no query too small or silly
Support for pre-school children
If you live in or around BD3, BD4 and BD5 your child may be able to access assessment from Language Development workers and support from Talking Together.
Portage – a home visiting educational service for families with pre-school children who have additional support needs
Libraries for under 5s – resources and activities that can support your child’s speech and language development.
Support for autistic children and young people and their families
If your child is autistic, or under-going or waiting for an autism diagnosis, the websites below provide support, resources and advice
AWARE (aware-uk.org) – a parent-run group supporting families with children and young adults on the autistic spectrum (formal diagnosis is not required).
National Autistic Society (autism.org.uk) – offers a range of resources and advice, working to transform lives and change attitudes to help create a society that works for autistic people.
Parent toolkit | Ambitious about Autism– a national charity for autistic children and young people, providing information and practical support.
Support — PAST (p-ast.co.uk) – provide support and advice for families of neurodivergent children and teenagers.
Pandas (pandasonline.org) – learn about autism with neurobears.
Spectrum Gaming – a safe online community for autistic young people which aims to support young people aged 8 and above to build friendships and increase self-acceptance of their diagnosis
For professionals
If you’re a professional working with children who need additional support with their speech, language and communication development you will find details here on how to access support and how to refer into our service.
Due to high levels of referrals and long waiting lists, we ask you to please use the resources offered and follow our referral criteria and ‘how to refer’ information ahead of referring a child to us. Thank you.
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If you wish to speak with one of our Speech and Language Therapists about one of the children you are working with, please scan the QR code to book an appointment.
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If you are a professional please:
1 Use our screening tools
They will help you understand if a referral to our service is appropriate.
2 Read the relevant referral criteria:
- Referral criteria – stammering
- Referral criteria – voice
- Referral criteria – Dysphagia
- Referral criteria – 18 months – 3 years
- Referral criteria – 3-5 years
- Referral criteria – 5-7 years
- Referral criteria – 7-11 years
- Referral criteria – 11+ years
3 Use the appropriate referral form
Please note, if you are referring for more than one speech and language issue, please use the ‘multiple needs’ form:
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Please watch the video and use the correct screening tool and referral form for the child you are considering referring.
As well as assisting you to understand whether a referral to our service is appropriate, the screening tools will also help you to know where to focus your support.
- Early years screening tool (18 mths-3 years)
- Early years screening tool (3-5 years)
- Key Stage One screening tool (5-7 years)
- Key Stage Two screening tool (7-11 years)
- Key Stage Three and Four screening tool (11 years and over)
You can also view the pictures you’ll need to use with the speech sound screen.
Alternative screening tools
If your setting is supporting children using an alternative screening and intervention tool, we will also accept these as supporting evidence for your referral. Please ensure you make it clear on your referral how the child meets the red referral criteria for their age. Alternative screening tools may include:
- products for educators from the speechandlanguage.org.uk shop
- the NELI programme
- the GL assessment toolkit.
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Please use the ‘how you can help’ tab next to ‘for professionals’ and select the child’s age group to click through for strategies, activities and ideas to support a child to understand language, talk and interact socially.
It will also be helpful if you can signpost parents to the appropriate page during your work with them.
Additional resources for professionals
All age groups
3-4 year olds
For help with understanding and talking
For help with speech sounds
4-5 year olds
For help with understanding and talking:
For help with speech sounds
5-7 year olds
For help with understanding and talking:
- Active listening for active learners
- Black Sheep Press Speaking and Listening Through Narrative User Guide
- Word Aware 3 – teaching vocabulary in small groups
- Black Sheep Press Fun with Narrative User Guide
- Pre-teaching Vocabulary User Guide
- Colourful Semantics User Guide
For help with social interaction:
For help with speech sounds:
7-11 year olds
For help with understanding and talking
- Active listening for active learners
- Black Sheep Press Oral to Written Narrative User Guide
- Pre-teaching Vocabulary User Guide
- Colourful Semantics User Guide
- Word Aware 3 – teaching vocabulary in small groups
For help with social interaction:
- Language for Behaviour and Emotions User Guide (upper Key Stage 2)
- Comic Strip Conversations User Guide
- Visually Supported Conversations User Guide
11 years and over
For help with understanding and talking:
- Pre-teaching vocabulary (PTV)
- Language for Behaviour and Emotions User Guide (upper Key Stage 2)
- Active listening for active learners
For help with social interaction:
- Visually Supported Conversations User Guide
- Language for Behaviour and Emotions User Guide (upper Key Stage 2)
- Comic Strip Conversations User Guide
- Autism Identity and Me User Guide
For help with speech sounds:
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These resources will help you to develop your own knowledge and skills to support children with their speech, language, and communication.
- Top talking tips for early years practitioners
- Every Child a Talker (ECAT) – Strategies and resources
- Supporting children learning English as an additional language (speechandlanguage.org.uk)
- Vocabulary for Early Years Practitioners (speechandlanguage.org.uk)
- Using scaffolding to help children’s language (speechandlanguage.org.uk)
- Scaffolding language
- Visual timelines – Practitioners factsheet
- Introduction to Developmental Language Disorder
- Working with secondary students learning English as an additional language
- Top tips for word learning in secondary school
- Understanding the links between communication and behaviour
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Training courses
- EYSEND Partnership (speechandlanguage.org.uk)
- CPD short course (speechandlanguage.org.uk)
- SLCF – The Communication Trust (slcframework.org.uk)
- HELLO improvement framework: Helping nurseries improve their language and literacy provision (National Literacy Trust)
- Supporting Speech, Language and Communication Needs Delivered by Stephen Parsons
Training videos
Supporting understanding – blank levels overview
Watch this 30-minute training video to find out how adults can adapt their language to support a child’s understanding. It describes the ‘blank levels’ model of language and how it can be used to support a child’s ability to understand language during interactions and learning activities.Supporting vocabulary and word-learning
Watch this 35-minute training video to learn how adults can support a child’s vocabulary development. It describes how to choose target vocabulary and explains a range of universal strategies and targeted supports that can be used within the classroom and small groups.Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)
Children over the age of five who have language difficulties that impact on their communication and learning in everyday life may have Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). A Speech and Language Therapist would make this diagnosis. Watch a short eight-minute presentation explaining more about DLD and describing some key strategies to help.Supporting understanding and clarification skills (active listening)
Watch this 30-minute training video exploring strategies that can be used to support children to be active in their own understanding and learning.Supporting language using colour coding
Watch this 55-minute training video to find out how adults can use colour coding of words and sentences to support a child’s understanding and talking.