Children and young people must be given the support they need to overcome speech, language and communications difficulties so they enjoy the same opportunities to learn, socialise and succeed as anyone else, according to an interim report presented by John Bercow MP to the Secretaries of State for Health and for Children, Schools and Families.

The Bercow Review, which the Government commissioned in September 2007, aims to improve services for children and young people from birth to 19 who have speech, language and communications difficulties, which could range from a delay in speaking to a severe stammer, or could be related to other disabilities such as autism or cerebral palsy.

Over 2,000 people responded to the Review's consultation, with almost 1,000 responses from families.

Government has invested in measures to address children's speech, language and communication needs, for example through the Children's Centres programme, and the numbers of speech and language therapists have increased by over a third between 1997 and 2006.

However, families highlighted that concerns about services remain. Some families feel their children are not a priority for local services and they have to struggle to obtain help. Information can be hard to find and services hard to access. Many feel agencies do not work together effectively or share a common language. Others found it difficult to maintain continuous support, especially as some professionals are stretched for time and resources - while others don't have the training to step in.

The interim report highlights the main issues and has identified five key themes:

-- Speech, language and communication are essential life skills and a fundamental human right - they should be a priority for all in the system;

-- Early identification of problems and intervention are essential to avoiding social and economic problems later in life;

-- Services should be a continuous process from an early age - not just the odd sessions or for very young children - and designed with the needs of the family in mind, making them easy to access;

-- Joint working between services and with families is critical. Local authorities, primary care trusts and other services need to cooperate more; and

-- The current system is patchy - there is in effect a 'postcode lottery'.

John Bercow said:

"I am very pleased to present this interim report to Ed Balls and Alan Johnson. Thousands of people have contributed to the Review and my colleagues and I on the Review team are especially grateful to the many families who have taken the time to tell us of their experiences.

"Although there are some skilled professionals and very good facilities, the overall position is highly unsatisfactory. Access to information and services is often poor, services themselves are very mixed, continuity across the age range is lacking, effective joint working between the health and education services is rare and there is something of a postcode lottery across the country. Above all, local commissioners attach a low priority to the subject and this must change. In this interim report, I set out the principal issues which need further consideration and the next steps I will take. Both the DCSF and DH Ministers and officials have co-operated fully with the Review and I look forward to making final recommendations in July."

The review was launched by Children's Secretary Ed Balls and Health Secretary Alan Johnson in September 2007.

The report describes a series of possible 'next steps', which the final review will consider:

-- The possibility of a Year of Speech, Language & Communication;

-- Whether there are enough speech and language therapists;

-- Bolstering the effectiveness of Children's Trusts to improve access to services and to improve co-operation between local councils and PCTs;

-- Providing local authorities and PCTs with an 'audit tool' to see what children's needs are in each area.

John Bercow's final report, with recommendations to Government, will be published in July 2008.

Building on the Education and Skills Committee report: Special Educational Needs: Assessment and Funding (October 2007), the DCSF last week set the terms of reference for Brian Lamb, Royal National Institute for Deaf People director, to lead an inquiry into how best to increase parental confidence in the special educational needs (SEN) assessment system. This is alongside a package of measures supported by £18m of additional investment over 2008-2011 outlined in the Children's Plan. This package will improve the skills of the workforce in meeting children's special educational needs and focus on the outcomes being achieved.

Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, said:

"It is vital that children and young people with speech and language difficulties are identified at the earliest possible stage and the right support is then put in place. If these problems aren't identified and treated early on it can have a fundamental impact on children and young people throughout their lives. I want Children's Services to work together with Primary Care Trusts to provide speech and language services that meet the needs of children and families.

"In recent weeks I have visited the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering in London with John Bercow and the West Green Primary speech and language unit in Haringey and I saw there the huge difference speech and language therapists and support staff make to the lives of children and young people with communication difficulties.

"I want to see the good services I have seen replicated in every area so I am therefore very pleased that John Bercow undertook to carry out this review. I thank him for his work so far and look forward to reading the final report and recommendations later this year."

Alan Johnson, Health Secretary, said:

"Speech, language and communication are fundamental aspects of a child's health and well-being. It is essential that health and other agencies work together to support children with SLC needs and their families. Over the last 10 years, we have increased the number of speech and language therapists and worked hard to improve access to professional programmes to help children overcome early speech problems.

"But we recognise that more needs to be done. This review will support commissioners in their role of identifying local need and purchasing appropriate services to ensure that every child who needs support with their communication gets it when they need it.

"I welcome the findings of this interim report and look forward to the final recommendations in July."

Scope of the Bercow Review

The review will advise on:

-- the range and composition of universal and specialist services to best identify and meet the diversity of needs and secure value for money within the context of the CSR and available resources;

-- how planning and performance management arrangements and effective co-operation between Government departments and responsible local agents can be used to promote early intervention and to improve services;

-- examples of good practice in commissioning and delivering services which are responsive to the needs of children, young people and families and which can be viewed as benchmarks for the delivery of local services across the country.

Specific issues to be considered by the review will include: -- how the health service commissioning framework ensures sufficient and responsive services to meet local needs;

-- clarity of accountability and responsibility for planning and service delivery from national to local level across health, social services and education, including joint and consistent priorities;

-- strategic, professional and operational leadership of services;

-- recruitment and deployment of NHS speech and language therapists, particularly those specialising in working with children;

-- analysing good practice in joint working by education and health services, particularly joint commissioning, including needs assessment and design of service delivery;

-- the balance between intervention in the early years and provision to children and young people throughout the age range; including those in vulnerable situations such as those at risk of offending or re-offending;

-- how to further improve workforce skills in early years and schools;

-- effective provision of assistive and augmentative communication technology;

-- improving support and information for parents & young people; and

-- transition to adult services.

Lamb Inquiry

The terms of reference for the Lamb Inquiry are to:

-- consider whether increasing parental confidence in the SEN assessment process could be best achieved by:

-- making the provision of educational psychology advice "arm's length" from local authorities;

-- sharing best practice in developing good relationships between the authority and parents, through effective Parent Partnership Services and other local mechanisms;

-- effective practice by schools and local authorities in meeting the needs of children at School Action Plus;

-- other innovative proposals;

-- commission and evaluate innovative projects, in the areas identified, that can demonstrate the impact on parental confidence of a particular approach;

-- draw on the evidence of other work currently commissioned by the Department; and

-- take into account the evidence of the submissions to the two Select Committee Reports, in 2006 and 2007.

The Inquiry started its work in March. It will provide a report in June 2008 on the commissioning of the innovative projects and initial areas of focus for the Inquiry. The projects will run for the school year September 2008 - July 2009 and an evaluation will run concurrently. The final report will be submitted in September 2009.

Brian Lamb has brought together a group of expert advisers who reflect a range of interests and opinions.

The group consists of:

-- Nick Armstrong of Matrix Chambers
-- Virginia Bovell, parent and Associate Director of TreeHouse
-- Colin Diamond, Director of Children's Services for North Somerset
-- Dr Fiona Hammans, headteacher of Banbury School, Oxfordshire
-- Professor Ann Lewis of Birmingham University
-- Jane McConnell of the Independent Panel for Special Education Advice (IPSEA)

-- A broader reference group of professionals and parents will also inform the Inquiry. This group will bring a wide range of evidence and extensive networks to the process of evidence gathering.

-- The Special Educational Consortium is convened under the auspices of the Council for Disabled Children to protect and promote the interests of disabled children and children with special educational needs. SEC is a broad consortium with over 100 organisations in membership, mainly voluntary organisations but also professional associations and local government organisations. The Consortium works on the areas of consensus that exist among the wide range of groups represented within it.

-- RNID is the Royal National Institute for Deaf People.

http://www.dh.gov.uk