Across UK primary schools and multi academy trusts, SENCOs and education leadership teams are navigating a fundamental shift in national education policy. With national NHS speech therapy waiting lists stretching beyond 52 weeks and special educational needs caseloads placing immense pressure on local authority EHCP frameworks, traditional referral routes are hitting a wall.
Asma Khanum, Speech and Language Therapist, CEO and Founder of Chatterbug and Brightspeech, challenges education leaders to rethink how schools prepare for systemic reform.
"The problem in schools is rarely a lack of advice," Asma explained. "It is implementation, confidence and consistency. Readiness is not having every answer. It is building a school system where children do not have to wait for a referral before the adults around them know how to respond."
Moving From Referral to Readiness
For years, the default response to emerging speech, language and communication needs has been a reactive cycle: a concern is noticed, a referral is made, and the child enters a long waiting list while needs escalate in the classroom.
To align with new National Inclusion Standards, school leaders must lead a key mindset shift:
- Old Question: "Who do we refer this child to?"
- New Question: "What can we understand, adapt and support now?"
A crucial lesson from clinical practice is that earlier action does not mean lowering the threshold for specialist expertise; it means using specialist expertise differently.
"If Your SENCO is Writing the Strategy Alone, You Have Missed the Point"
Under the Department for Education vision, inclusion is an organisational priority across four pillars:
- Lead It: Ambitious leadership and governance that embeds inclusion.
- Teach Inclusively: Adaptive teaching, curriculum design, and evidence based early intervention.
- Create Belonging: Safe, respectful cultures that drive attendance and participation.
- Work Around the Child: Active partnerships with families and specialist services.
If an Inclusion Strategy Statement remains a document written in isolation by a SENCO, it becomes an exercise in intent rather than daily practice. An effective strategy must make need, spend, action and impact visible across the whole school.
The 4 Step Solution: How Teaching First Turns Policy into Practice
To bridge the gap between high level policy and daily classroom routines, Chatterbug developed Teaching First by Chatterbug (powered by Brightspeech).
Rather than leaving staff with static advice or long referral lists, Teaching First provides an operational framework structured around a 4 step connected journey:
- BUILD CAPABILITY: Designated staff complete Communication Development Specialist training through the Brightspeech app, building practical skills and confidence, backed by ongoing Speech and Language Therapy supervision.
- IDENTIFY: Recognise speech, language and communication needs earlier using Brightspeech screening and structured observation across designated year groups.
- INTERVENE: Put practical strategies in place and deliver structured Intervention First™ within the child's everyday environment without unnecessary delay.
- EXPERTS AT HAND: Keep Speech and Language Therapy expertise accessible through regular supervision, consultation, and clear clinical escalation pathways when specialist input is needed.
Teaching First was engineered specifically to anticipate systemic SEND reform by enabling earlier identification, building in-school capability, and keeping specialist clinical expertise closer to the child.
The evidence base speaks for itself:
- 88% of children accessing Intervention First™ made progress in Chatterbug’s 20 school pilot.
- 42% of children identified as needing SLT input accessed support without requiring a referral for specialist input
- Audit-ready progress and outcome tracking provides local authorities with robust evidence before escalating to formal EHCP processes.
Whole school access to Teaching First starts from £3,000 per year, providing complete platform access, staff upskilling, therapist designed resources, and regular Speech and Language Therapy guidance.
See how Teaching First could work in your school by visiting us at stand D72 or book a free demo at chatter-bug.com/brightspeech-teaching-first today.
