Hello! We’re the Early Communication Team.

We support families of children who have been referred through the Blackpool Speech and Language Triage Panel. We are a referral-only service who help to support and develop your child’s communication skills through play-based learning and interactions, once a week for 10 weeks. We do this one-to-one in the home environment, as well as through our Discoverers stay and play speech and language sessions.

These sessions are invite-only, designed for children who have been referred into the Speech and Language Triage Pathway.

Why has my child been given Home Visiting?
With your consent, your child will have been referred to the Blackpool Speech and Language Triage Panel, from their nursery or your Health Visitor following an assessment which highlights a delay in your child’s communication. At the panel, a group of professionals review the referral and decide which service they believe is most appropriate for your child and family. If you have been offered Home Visiting then it is likely your child is in nursery less than 15 hours a week. You may also have been offered another service such as NHS Speech and Language Support.

Will you help my child to talk?
We understand that as a parent you are eager to support your child to talk. And we know that parents are the most powerful when supporting early communication development! Therefore this is a parent-implemented intervention. The Home Visitor will give you weekly activities for you to ‘practice’ over the week. During each session, the Home Visitor will coach you on the activities and model how to use these ideas with your child during an activity. It’s your job to continue to use the tips to support everyday interactions with your child.

Research shows that when parents use specific interaction strategies with their child during everyday routines and conversations, children’s language skills improve.

Will I see the same Home Visitor?
Yes – we will always try our best to make sure you have the same Home Visitor for the length of the intervention.

What if I’m ill or on holiday one week?
We understand that sometimes you may have a planned holiday or yourself or a family member may be unwell. Therefore we can offer two weeks of missed sessions before the Home Visitor will need to discuss alternative support for your family and child.

How long do the sessions last?
On average, a home visit will be between 45 minutes to an hour. However, all children are different and the sessions may be shorter on occasion if your little one is struggling to engage.

What happens after the 10 week intervention?
Following the week 10 Wellcomm Visit, your Home Visitor will book in a review visit for 6 weeks time. This visit will give you the opportunity to update your Home Visitor on any progress your child has made, discuss new targets and re-visit any strategies you’d like more support with. Your Home Visitor will then book a final 12 week review visit where the Wellcomm speech and language assessment will be completed.

If my child is in nursery will you contact them?
With your consent, we may call the nursery during the intervention to discuss how your child is doing and what support is taking place at nursery. At the end of the intervention, we will complete a transition document to share with the nursery. This will outline what has been worked on during the intervention, what targets have been set and the next steps for your child.

What is Discoverers?

It is a weekly group for children who have been referred to the Speech and Language Triage Panel.

What are the benefits of attending?

As well as developing all of the skills mentioned above, these sessions also offer the opportunity for you as a parent to make connections and friendships with other parents who may be going through similar experiences.

Children need new experiences to grow and develop. Attending groups such as this one provides the perfect opportunity to explore and help them discover their likes and dislikes.

As mentioned, there will always be a member of our Home Visiting team available during the sessions so if you have any questions or need some advice you can ask them!

Can I bring a friend or family member with me?

Absolutely! We understand it can be daunting when attending new groups so you are more than welcome to bring another adult with you.

Can I bring their sibling?

As we are a term-time only group, we expect older siblings will be in school when our sessions run however you are welcome to bring along any under 4’s to the sessions.

Do I have to attend every week?

Not at all! We understand life is busy and having a young child can make it difficult to commit to a weekly session. You are welcome to attend as many or as few sessions as you would like to. No commitment.

I’m running late, can I still come?

Of course! Although we do encourage you to aim to arrive in time for our ‘Hello’ song, we understand that occasionally you may be running late and we would always welcome you to join the group whatever time you arrive.