Longmoor Primary School wins Shine a Light communication award
Longmoor Primary School in Liverpool, which is dedicated to developing their pupil’s communication skills, has won the coveted Primary School of the Year Award at the 2019 Shine a Light Awards organised by Pearson, in partnership with The Communication Trust. The awards were presented by British comic actress and writer, Sally Phillips with special performance from Britain’s Got Talent winner Lee Ridley (Lost Voice Guy). Longmoor Primary School started an initiative in 2011 to address the very low communication and language skills of their youngest pupils and due to the team’s hard work and dedication, Longmoor Primary has now become a ‘trailblazer’ in their local authority! The school has developed a bespoke diagnostic assessment for pupils on entry to early years so they can specifically tailor interventions to individual needs. This has formed the basis of provision that has been so successful, it has been expanded throughout the whole school to improve the language skills of every child. The Shine a Light judges were blown away with the level of importance the school places on communication. It is at the forefront of everyone’s mind and the school has a dedicated oracy team and a communication specific teacher performance management target. In addition, Longmoor Primary has joined the nationally recognised Voice21 project and a dedicated section about speech, language and communication within their annual school improvement plan. The high priority of oracy is also reflected in the school’s curriculum planning documents and despite school budgets being squeezed, a portion of Longmoor’s budget is directed to the development of oracy for staff training and purchasing specialist equipment. They have also employed a specialist drama teacher and invested in a new communication and language tool, Stoke Speaks Out. It wasn’t just the senior leadership team and staff room activity that grabbed the judges’ attention, it was also the support they provide their children. Following assessment for speech, language and communication needs (SLCN), a provision map and pupil profile is created for each child requiring additional support, working with their experienced Communication and Language Assistants to ensure progress. On a wider, whole-school level, the school is constantly looking at ways to promote and support communication in a fun and interactive way. They have introduced themed weeks with an oracy element and encourage participation in whole-school/public performances with their spelling bees, Poem a Day, choir, orchestra and productions at Christmas and over the summer. Longmoor Primary has even created specific roles and clubs that prioritise communication including school councillors, playground buddies, play leaders, debate team, public speaking club and press gang. As if all that wasn’t enough, the staff take the time to extend their support to parents, working closely with them to promote speech and language skills via parental training, oral motor and health sessions and stay and play sessions. They have also created a weekly Lego Club for parents of children with special educational needs (SEN), particularly those who have SLCN. Longmoor recently worked with the Ethnic Minority and Traveller Achievement Service team in Liverpool to develop a programme for new-entrant pupils, who have English as their additional language, and their families to support integration into school, assessment of their language needs and appropriate provision. The school performance results are testament to the school’s amazing work in promoting communication. Just 10% of their pupils are at the ‘expected’ level for communication and language (C&L) upon admission to the nursery. By the time the children leave, they are articulate, fluent and confident speakers. Summer 2018 results showed 94.9% of children were at expected level in C&L come the end of Reception. By the end of Key Stage 2, 93% of children were at expected level in reading, 88% in writing and 91% in EPGS (English, grammar, punctuation and spelling). For more information on the Shine a Light Awards visit shinealightawards.co.uk and follow on Twitter: #awards_SAL
Shine a Light Awards celebrates schools’ communication development work
Comedian Adam Hess hosted the 2018 Shine a Light Awards, a national awards scheme that celebrates innovative work and excellent practice in supporting children and young people’s communication development. Adam struggled with dyslexia and an immense fear of public speaking when he was younger. At the awards, which took place at Pearson’s headquarters in London, 17 individuals and teams across 10 award categories were recognised, as well as children and young people with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). The Shine a Light Awards are sponsored and organised by Pearson in partnership with The Communication Trust, a coalition of over 50 organisations dedicated to supporting children and young people’s speech, language and communication. Adam said: “The dedication of teams and individuals to improve the communication skills of children and young people is humbling. As a child, I struggled greatly with dyslexia and an immense fear of public speaking, if it wasn’t for the support I received when I was younger I wouldn’t be in the position I am today. It has been a complete honour to host these awards and I would like to congratulate all the winners and commended finalists. They should be very proud of what they have achieved.” Sharon Hague, Senior Vice President, Schools, Pearson, said: “Our warmest congratulations to the winners, highly-commended, and commended finalists of the 2018 Shine a Light Awards. Through our innovative clinical assessments, Pearson is committed to supporting those working to help people overcome challenges in speech and language. “For six years we have run these awards as we believe it is so important to recognise and celebrate the incredible, but often unsung, work being done across the country to change the lives of children and young people by helping them to develop their communication skills.” Octavia Holland, Director of The Communication Trust, said: “Congratulations to everyone who triumphed at the 2018 Shine a Light Awards. These awards highlight the very best practice that is taking place in settings across the country. The winners and highly-commended finalists have shown what can be achieved when expertise, enthusiasm and dedication are given to children and young people who struggle to communicate. We would like to say a huge thank you to Pearson for their long-standing support.” The awards panel included 19 key representatives from across the education and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) sectors, as well as previous Shine a Light Award winners. Representatives included Jonathan Douglas, Director at National Literacy Trust; Kamini Gadhok MBC, Chief Executive at RCSLT; Bob Reitemeier CBE, CEO of I CAN; Lesley Munro, Education and Speech and Language Therapy Manager at Pearson Clinical; John Parrott, Chair of Communication Consortium at NAPLIC and Victoria Roe, Secretary and Deputy Chair, SMIRA. The Shine a Light Awards have grown in popularity since their launch during the National Year of Communication in 2011 (known as the Hello campaign). To date, the awards have celebrated the work of over 140 teams and a wide range of individuals, including young people with severe and complex SLCN. In the UK, over one million children and young people have some form of long-term and persistent speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) that can impact them early, severely and for life. The awards highlight the incredible contributions of teams, settings and individuals across England who support children and young people to achieve their full potential despite the challenges they face. The Awards are designed to promote and celebrate good practice in speech, language and communication for individuals, groups and settings that work with children and young people, particularly those with SLCN. The awards form part of the legacy of the National Year of Communication (Hello campaign) and have become a key event in the speech, language and communication and healthcare calendar. Pearson is the world’s learning company, with expertise in educational courseware and assessment, and a range of teaching and learning services powered by technology. Pearson have sponsored the Shine a Light Awards since their launch in 2011, as part of the Hello campaign (National Year of Communication). The Communication Trust is a coalition of over 50 leading voluntary sector organisations, which raises awareness, influences policy, promotes best practice among the children’s workforce and commissions work from its members. The Trust’s mission is to ensure that every child and young person is supported to communicate to the very best of their ability. For further information about the Shine a Light winners and highly-commended finalists, visit www.shinealightawards.co.uk and follow the hashtag on Twitter #awards_SAL The full list of winners and highly commended finalists is as follows: Award: The Katie Rough Memorial Award Winner: Libby Hill, Uttoxeter Highly Commended: Rachel Peck, Cambridgeshire Child/Young Person of the Year Award: Winner: Jonathan Bryan, Wiltshire Highly Commended: Siena Castellon, London Communication Champion of the Year Award Winner: Pip St John, Lancashire Youth Justice of the Year Award Winner: Manchester Youth Justice, Manchester Early Years Setting of the Year Award Winner: Children’s House Nursery School, London Highly Commended: Juice Nursery Ltd, Altrincham Primary School of the Year Award Winner: Pendle Primary Academy, Lancashire Highly Commended: Longmoor Community Primary, Merseyside Commended: Bridgewater Primary School, Newcastle upon Tyne Secondary School/College of the Year Award Winner: Isaac Newton Academy, London Commended: London South East Colleges, London SEN School/Group of the Year Award Winner: Pontville School, Lancashire Highly Commended: The William Henry Smith School, West Yorkshire SLCN Innovation of the Year Award Winner: Stoke Speaks Out Pearson Outstanding Achievement Award Winner: Stoke Speaks Out The judges involved in the 2018 Shine a Light Awards were: · Bob Reitemeier, CEO of I CAN · Diz Minnitt, Speech and Language Lead, Association of YOT Managers (AYM) · Hilary Berry, Chair of Cheshire West and Chester Primary Heads’ Association · Janet Cooper, Early Language and Communication Strategy Lead at Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Shine a Light Award winner · John Parrott, Chair of Communication Consortium at NAPLIC · Jonathan Douglas, Director of National