Parent Helplines
The Department of Education asked The Communication Trust to
ensure that a number of parent helplines are providing
appropriate information to parents about typical speech, language
and communication development. This also includes ensuring
that they are providing appropriate advice on what to do if a
parent is concerned and are aware of the services that they can
signpost parents to.
We worked with Symbol UK, a Trust consortium member, who
provided the relevant helplines with information and advice in the
form of a training pack which also included resources from other
consortium members.
Symbol also ran a conference for helpline staff to give training
on the following:
• What are speech, language and communication?
• What are speech, language and communication needs?
• Things that might alert helpline staff to speech, language
and communication needs
• General advice for parents and carers and appropriate
signposting