Investment in people helps boost support for children’s speech and language needs
Demand has grown in recent years for many NHS services across the country - but there has been a particular rise in the number of families seeking help for children's speech, language and communication needs.
These difficulties range from children having trouble forming words, expressing themselves and making sense of words and sentences, through to stammering.
In Northamptonshire, specialist support is provided by NHFT's specialist Children's Speech and Language Therapy team - but a recent independent audit showed that more therapists were needed to meet rising demand.
This has led to a significant investment in growing the team and working with partners to develop innovative new ways to provide support in local communities.
And the benefits of the investment are now starting to show, with the number of families waiting more than 18 weeks for a first appointment steadily dropping throughout 2026 since the new full-strength team has been in place.
As well as bringing in new therapists, there has been a clear focus on increasing the range of professional skills on offer in the team and updating treatment pathways to bring them more closely in line with children's needs.
This has enabled them to support families at an earlier stage of their child's development, which increases the chances of interventions being successful.
An important part of speech and language therapy is equipping parents and carers with skills and techniques to support their child's development at home.
With this in mind, the service has created a range of handy online self-help tools for those receiving support or waiting for an appointment. Families are also given access to a free app called SuperPenguin, which offers advice and guidance tailored to their needs.
NHFT also works closely with Family Hubs in North Northamptonshire to bring specialist speech and language support for pre-school children into the community.
This means families can get help in a friendly and welcoming environment closer to where they live, as part of a wider support offer from a range of local services.
The team has also developed a package of resources for schools, nurseries and other settings to help educators better understand speech, language and communication difficulties and help the children in their care.
Jo Fletcher, Head of Nursing, Allied Health Professionals and Quality for NHFT's Children's Services, said: "There's been a huge amount of work done by the Children's Speech and Language Therapy team to improve our offer for children, young people and their families.
"Working closely with our local councils, schools and communities we've been able to really develop and improve the ways we support our service users - and we're delighted that people are now starting to see and feel the difference, with more appointments being offered, treatment pathways improved and waiting times starting to come down.
"We know there's still more to do to make sure we keep improving and reduce waiting times even further, but the team deserves huge credit for the great things they've achieved together so far."
"We could see the improvement"
Support from the NHFT Children's Speech and Language team can really make a difference to children's speech, language and communication skills - as these comments from parents and carers show.
"This has been amazing in helping me understand how I can support [my child]. In such a short space of time I've seen a massive improvement in their verbal communication."
"I was given support in slowing down my communication and as a result my child has started to engage with me."
"Helped me feel less alone and that it isn't my fault."
"Fantastic - has really helped and [my child] has really progressed."
"We could see the improvement in our child's communication."
To find out more about the Children's Speech and Language Therapy team and the support on offer, visit nhft.nhs.uk/childrens-salt