What do children and young people think about speech ... - Afasic

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consultation, issues around consent, anonymityand reporting and were asked whether theywould be prepared to be consulted based onwhat it would entail. Some were individualsand others were members of a specific group.Five groups responded and agreed to takepart. One group of around 28 students wasconsulted through their class teacher viawritten information sent from the Trust. Thishad been developed through consultationswith young people which had been carriedout up to that point. In addition, a number ofindividuals agreed to either a telephone or faceto face interview.A total of 71 pupils were consulted, 43 of themdirectly through focus groups or interviews. Fourfocus groups were consulted directly, with a totalof 38 young people involved, 8 of whom hadsevere and complex SLCN. One class of childrenwere consulted through written questions and 5through individual interviews.The young people were aged between 11 and23, the majority of which were still at schoolwith a spread across key stages 3 and 4 and anumber of young people in further and highereducation.Measures/procedure – Data collectionThe process was carried out within a robustframework to ensure the opinions wereobjectively gathered and representative ofthe young people we spoke to. There werestrategies in place to ensure there was constantchecking with young people to ensure wehad clearly represented their views. Informedconsent was gained before the interviews,by the young people themselves and/or anappropriate adult. Before each session, theywere given information again about theTrust, aims of the consultation, issues aroundconfidentiality and consent as well as methodsof reporting. They were informed they did notneed to continue and could choose not toanswer any questions at any point.The main data collection techniques werethrough individual interviews and focus groups,talking in detail to relatively small numbers ofchildren and young people. A questionnairewas designed as part of the process, thoughthe young people involved expressed apreference for giving their opinions directlythrough the focus groups and therefore thequestionnaires were not extensively used. Asemi structured approach to the interviews andfocus groups was taken in order to introducean area of discussion and enable the youngpeople to comment and discuss in whateverway they chose. They were also encouragedto think of specific scenarios, situations and orpeople in order to help think about the issues.Within the consultations, a range ofmethodologies and approaches were availableto ensure all young people were able tocontribute 13 . The interviewer was a qualifiedspeech and language therapist with expertisein interviewing children and young people witha wide range of communication needs, as wellas typically developing children and youngpeople. The process of data collection has beenan iterative process where initial consultationsinformed subsequent ones. Where possible,sessions were tape recorded and extensive fieldnotes were taken in each session.Data analysisData from the consultations has beentranscribed and analysed to identify recurringthemes, issues and ideas. These have13 Clark, A., Quail, S., Moss, P., (2003); Exploring the field ofListening to and consulting with Young Children. ThomasCoram Research Unit, DfES14 Children and Young People’s Consultation 2009
een supported by direct quotes from theyoung people involved. As we agreed bothconfidentiality and anonymity at the beginningof each session, names of young people are notused against the quotes given.ResultsInitially within each session, there was somediscussion around what we all mean bycommunication skills; the aim was to findcommon language and definitions around thesubject. On the whole the information wasdirected by the young people involved withsupport and facilitation by the interviewer.Discussion/future workFurther consultations would aim to involve awider range of children and young people,to include more young people with SLCNand a wider age range. Ideally, all sessionswould have been taped or videoed and futureconsultations would aim to do this. We diddevelop a questionnaire, though it was notextensively used. There is the potential todevelop a more interactive and accessiblequestionnaire in order to gain the views of awider number of young people.Resources to help your workWe have the resources to help the children’sworkforce deliver the outcomes the childrenhave outlined in this report and throughour members can signpost to other relevantmaterials and publications. We have developeda framework, the Speech, Language andCommunication Framework (SLCF), whichidentifies the skills and knowledge necessaryto support children’s communication effectivelyand signposts to relevant training.This can be completed online atwww.communicationhelppoint.org.ukWe have a number of useful publicationsavailable to order for free including ExplainingSpeech, Language and Communication Needs(SLCN), which explains in simple terms whatSLCN are and how to support the childrenand young people who have difficulties withcommunicating.Next stepsThe purpose of The Communication Trustis to raise awareness of the importanceof speech, language and communicationacross the children’s workforce and to enablepractitioners to access the best training andexpertise to support the communication needsof all children. The young people we spoketo felt communication skills were key to theirdevelopment and life chances. They highlightedthe strategies that some teachers already use tosupport communication in the classroom, thoughfelt this needed to be more universal. They felt aneed to be taught these skills in school, thoughwere aware of the pressures on teachers andsuggested a more systemic change alongside arecognised need for teachers to develop someof the knowledge and skills needed to developcommunication skills in the young people in theircare. We have drawn out the key themes ofyoung people’s views and will use this as a guideto ensure their views are taken into account inthe future work of the Trust.ConclusionsThe young people involved were incrediblyinsightful and interested in talking aboutcommunication skills. Their comments andsuggestions will help shape the work of theTrust in both current and future initiatives.Please visit the websitewww.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk formore details.Children and Young People’s Consultation 2009 15
Page 1 and 2: Children and YoungPeople’s ViewsW
Page 3 and 4: What did we do?• We explained to
Page 5 and 6: We asked… What do you thinkabout
Page 7 and 8: Personalised learning/attitudesSome
Page 9 and 10: We asked… Shouldcommunication ski
Page 11 and 12: We asked… Is there anythingthat t
Page 13: SupportingInformationThe following

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