DEPARTMENT FOR
CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES News Release (2008/0076) issued by
The Government News Network on 28 April 2008
Secretary of State
for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls, announced today that
The Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children will receive
£340,000 to provide schools across the country with information,
advice and training materials on how best to support children and
young people who stammer.
The Michael Palin Centre, a world leader in this field, will
develop a stammering information programme that will be rolled out
to all schools by 2010. The Centre will work with young people,
their families, local speech and language therapy services and
school staff to develop the materials and training packages.
It is estimated that around 5% of children experience some
difficulty with their fluency at some time during the development
of their speech and language. Stammering has a major impact on
children's academic and social lives - children with a
stammer are more likely to become withdrawn or anxious and can
become the focus of bullying. This funding will enable schools to
better meet the needs of this vulnerable group of children and
young people.
Ed Balls said:
"I saw on my visit to the Michael Palin Centre last year
how, with patience and expertise, the therapists there help
children and their families to overcome or alleviate stammers. The
training and information that schools will receive as a result of
this funding will mean they can better understand the condition
and how best to support pupils who stammer.
"Our aim is to make this the best place in the world for our
children to grow up, and for children and young people with
stammers we can do that by providing the help and support they
need to make the most of their talents."
Michael Palin said:
"I am delighted that the Department of Children, Schools and
Families has recognised the importance and effectiveness of the
work at the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children. Their
support for the work, backed up by generous investment, is
wonderfully encouraging news for those who stammer and those who
seek to help them."
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.
The Government has also invested in measures to address
children's speech, language and communication needs, for
example through the Children's Centres programme, and numbers
of speech and language therapists have increased by over a third
between 1997 and 2006.
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. The Michael Palin Centre will use a two stage programme to
provide schools across the country with information, advice and
training materials on how best to support children and young
people who stammer:
* Foundation Level - where participants would gain basic
information to recognise stammering and straightforward strategies
to help children and young people communicate more effectively in
their educational environment.
* Specialist Level - where participants would gain detailed
information about the nature of stammering, its social and
educational impact and practical guidance on appraising its
severity and the reasonable adjustments that could support a child
or young person with a stammer.
2. The training materials will be developed and piloted between
2008 and 2010, with all schools hoping to receive material and
information by the end of 2010. The resources will also be
available online.
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