Let’s Get Talking Bradford!
Talking Bradford is a new step-by-step online guide signposting parents /
carers to support with home learning and speech, language and communication (SLC) services in the Bradford district for children aged 0-5.
The guide and a launch campaign has been developed by a task and finish group using insight from co-production and engagement activities with parents and carers in the Bradford district. The group includes colleagues from various partners in the district – speech and language therapy specialists, early years specialist and communications teams at Bradford Council, NHS providers, Better Start Bradford and FYI Bradford along with design expertise from PPL: People Places Lives.
Introduction
The key aims are to contribute to reducing the waiting times for speech and language assessment, diagnosis and therapy and to strengthen the support offer whilst families are waiting by signposting parents / carers to self-help and early help in the community.
What is Talking Bradford?
There are two integrated speech and language pathways (for children aged 0-5) on the FYI website. There is an engaging step-by-step guide signposting parents/carers to support with home learning and speech, language and communication (SLC) services in the Bradford district.
Speech and Language pathway for parents | Bradford Families and Young Persons
There is also a step-by-step guide and resources for professionals who are in touch with parents/carers, for example early years practitioners.
Speech and Language Pathway for Early Years | Bradford Families and Young Persons
The new pathway was launched using a multi-channel campaign to reach diverse audiences in Bradford district. Video animations have been developed along with social media assets and a range of posters, including accessible formats such as Easy Read, community languages and British Sign Language (BSL).
Resources page: Speech and Language Pathways | Bradford Families and Young Persons.
Co-production and partnership working
The Talking Bradford online guide and campaign has been developed using
insight from co-production and engagement activities with parents and carers in the Bradford district.
The group engaged with parents and support groups to develop the branding and key messages, and to ensure the guide is understood.
Partners worked together to review language used to ensure it has been written in plain English – for example, changing the words ‘universal support’ to ‘help for all’ and ‘targeted support’ to ‘extra support’.
The task and finish group also engaged directly with around 50 teams including professionals and practitioners working directly with families, communications leads across the district and Family Hubs staff.
The group made the most of existing relationships to reach both the primary and secondary audiences.
Overcoming barriers and inequalities
The campaign highlights helpful play and learn activities which take little time, are easy and low cost, can happen at home or when out and about, and can easily be interwoven with daily tasks.
The launch campaign highlights that activities are as rewarding and fun for parents and carers as they are for their children.
What were the outcomes and impact?
The guide launched in December 2023 and has started to reach primary audiences. The engagement activity has also helped to encourage professionals and practitioners in a range of settings to signpost the help available to families that they work with.
Impact of the launch campaign
- As at the end of June 2024, the online parent/carer pathway had received over 3000 page views and the early years pathway had received over 600 page views.
- Signposting to the guide is being be undertaken for parents / carers of children and young people waiting for assessment, diagnosis and speech and language therapy. This activity will help families to find a wide range of support and services that are available in the community while waiting.
Longer term outcomes and impact
The Talking Bradford pathway has been accepted on to a programme of work at the Partnership for future development. The longer term outcomes are that:
- Practitioners and parents will have increased knowledge about speech, language and communication needs and will be better able to maximise opportunities to support development.
- Professionals and practitioners in early years settings will be better able to identify children at risk of persistent speech, language and communication (SLC) needs.
- Families will be more confident in supporting their child’s SLC needs and developing the home learning environment and will be able to access services if needed.
- Early years settings will provide higher quality SLC environments in which to learn.
- There will be a well-trained workforce that is able to deliver effective support.
- The pathway encourages integrated and collaborative working across the frontline early years workforce.
- There will be provision of continuing professional development opportunities for the early years workforce.
Feedback from parents / carers
- The site is easy to access and move around without any problem.
- Not only is it a good resource for signposting but also reassuring to see the stages children go through.
- I think it would be hugely helpful for anyone looking for information about their child’s communication – I’ve sent it to our daughter to have a look at! I realise now that Bella is spot on with her language and communication for her age, so very reassuring! But also I have some good ideas for helping her to keep developing!
- I liked the Tiny Happy People contributions.
- I watched some of the videos and found them all helpful, especially those with parents speaking about their experiences.
- From a content perspective I really liked the ‘Should I be worried? / Ages and Stages guidance’. As a parent ‘Should I be worried?’ is something that I often find myself thinking.
- In my experience, for the parents, keep it as simple as possible, which you have done a great job of, and the fact that the video states to go to their hub is fabulous. If I had this 20 years ago for my son, I would have definitely gone to the hub. I hope that the support workers at the hubs would be able to support the families. This is going to be fantastic!!
- I think for everyone involved the information for families I’ve been looking at looks brilliant 😊 I’m sure it will be so valuable to everyone.
- Amazing work; the website, toolkit and campaign is absolutely brilliant.
Next steps?
Regular engagement work will be needed with key teams to promote the new pathways and to help embed better ways of working.
The pathway will sit within the Healthy Children and Families Programme and specifically under Principle One, that ‘Every child has the best start to life’ which has oversight from the Healthy Children and Families Board.
The Communications Team at Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust will take responsibility for leading partners in an ongoing promotional campaign. They will be supported by the Communications Team here at the partnership where appropriate.
This new resource will be used by the Early Language Support for Every Child (ELSEC) programme team when signposting families to help. At present nine schools are taking part in the two year programme.
Please contact communications@bradford.gov.uk for any further information.