Vanessa Lloyd, NHS Children’s Speech & Language Therapist.
Vanessa is a Speech and Language Therapist (SALT) working in Children’s Therapies, part of Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust. Vanessa provides a SALT role as part of the Department for Education’s Alternative Provision Specialist Taskforce in a secondary Pupil Referral Unit and with the local authority Youth Justice Service
Introduction
Proficient communication skills are fundamental to all areas of life. They underpin meaningful engagement in education and contribute to academic and professional achievement. Communication abilities support mental health and wellbeing, facilitate interpersonal relationships, shape societal participation, and enhance self-awareness. Young people with speech, language, and communication needs (SLCNs) face significantly greater challenges compared to their peers, with difficulties permeating several critical domains of life. Academically, children and adolescents with SLCNs often struggle with literacy, comprehension, and classroom engagement, which can impact learning and limit access to further and higher education. The implications extend into adulthood, where restricted language skills can affect employment opportunities, hinder career progression, and contribute to economic disadvantage. Moreover, SLCNs are a recognised mental health risk factor, associated with an increased likelihood of experiencing anxiety, depression, and social isolation (Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, 2021).
The justice system reflects these disparities, wherein young people with unmet communication needs are disproportionately represented among offenders (Anderson et al, 2016). SLCNs pose difficulties for young people throughout all stages of interaction with the justice system, including understanding legal rights and processes or expressing themselves effectively in high-stress situations. Young people with SLCNs often face barriers to education, social participation, and support services long before any formal contact with the justice system. These challenges can compound over time, increasing the risk of future involvement in the criminal justice system, as educational exclusion, poor communication, and unmet developmental needs are closely linked to behavioural issues and vulnerability to offending (Chow & Wehby, 2018). These intersecting disadvantages underscore the need for early identification of SLCNs, comprehensive support, and inclusive policy interventions to improve outcomes for this vulnerable population. This paper highlights the coordinated efforts to address the communication needs of vulnerable young people in the Sandwell borough, West Midlands; Sandwell is presently ranked 12th most deprived Local Authority in England, according to the UK government’s Indices of Multiple Deprivation (2019). Many young people in Sandwell face barriers in education that can contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline, where unmet needs and exclusionary practices increase the risk of involvement with the criminal justice system. The partnership models that exist between the Local Authority’s Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) service, Secondary Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) and the Youth Justice Service (YJS) exemplifies a proactive, multi-agency approach to improving communication outcomes for some of the borough’s most at-risk youth.
Adolescent language and communication development
Language development begins in the womb and progresses significantly throughout the early years of life. While early childhood is a critical period for acquiring foundational communication skills, any assumption that language development concludes thereafter is inaccurate. Early communication skills underpin more advanced competencies that develop across the lifespan, such as articulating needs and desires and acquiring literacy skills (Nippold, 2004). As children transition into adolescence, these fundamental abilities continue to mature and refine, enabling more sophisticated language use across diverse contexts, such as family life, peer relationships, and educational environments (Nippold, 2006). Adolescence represents a critical point in cognitive and linguistic development; skills such as abstract thinking, moral reasoning, and perspective-taking undergo significant deepening, reflecting a shift from foundational acquisition to advanced integration. These changes are instrumental in preparing individuals for the complex demands of evolving social situations and adult life.
SLCNs and School Exclusions
The importance of secure communication skills cannot be overstated; they are essential for navigating intricate social dynamics and life experiences. It is well evidenced that young people with SLCNs encounter substantial barriers to accessing learning opportunities, experience heightened frustration and may exhibit challenging behaviours. The vulnerabilities associated with SLCNs place these young people at an elevated risk of experiencing school exclusion (Cornish & Brennan, 2025) or some form of disruption in their educational placement. The Department for Education (2025) found that students are most frequently excluded due to persistent disruptive behaviour; however, underlying and hidden communication difficulties are a common factor in many young people’s experiences of school exclusion (Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, 2021). Moreover, the experience of school exclusion can shape the attitudes a young person develops toward education and may have a profound impact on their self-esteem and mental health.
Interaction with a Youth Justice Service
The relationship between school exclusions and justice system involvement is ever-growing (Liston, 2022). Verbal disclosures play a critical role in understanding a young person’s involvement in an incident and in uncovering the cognitive and emotional processes underlying their behaviour during investigations into alleged offending. Young people with SLCNs who are engaged with a YJS often encounter significant barriers to accessing interventions and participating meaningfully in legal proceedings. The Child-First Approach places particular focus on identifying and prioritising communication needs (Youth Justice Board, 2024). Within the YJS, timely identification of SLCNs is therefore essential, not only to ensure such needs can be acknowledged as mitigating factors during the decision-making process, but also to guide how professionals tailor their approach and communication strategies with a young person (McDonald-Heffernan & Robin-D’Cruz, 2024).
Early Identification of SLCNs in Young People
School exclusion and subsequent placement in a Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) presents a distinctive opportunity to evaluate communication skills. Recognising the importance of targeted intervention, in 2021 the Department for Education (DfE) launched the Alternative Provision Specialist Taskforce, aiming to deliver multidisciplinary specialist support across 22 pilot schools throughout the UK. Aligning with this initiative, Sandwell Speech and Language Therapy (SALT) service has collaborated with the local authority PRU to establish a comprehensive screening pathway for identifying SLCNs among all enrolled students. Many young people referred through the Sandwell PRU SALT service have historically lacked access to specialist assessment, and as a result, their communication challenges have remained unrecognised and unsupported. In addition to disruptions in formal education, these young people risk being mislabelled as defiant or disengaged, rather than recognised as needing support with underlying communication difficulties.
Embedding a robust screening process in the PRU allows school practitioners to tailor interventions to individual needs, enhance engagement with learning, and support emotional wellbeing. Screening and onward referral to school-based SALTs seeks to reduce interaction with the YJS by identifying underlying needs early and providing timely, targeted support. Through systematic screening, SLCNs can be recognised and met with appropriate interventions. The process also facilitates better coordination among education, health, and social care services, ensuring a more cohesive support network exists. This holistic and preventative approach aligns with youth justice diversion strategies, helping to keep vulnerable young people out of the criminal justice system.
While screening within PRUs facilitates early identification of SLCNs, some young people continue to face challenges that lead to involvement with the YJS. Research consistently highlights the importance of SALT services partnering with all levels of the justice system (Bryan et al, 2015). In collaboration with the local YJS, Sandwell SALT has developed a framework that includes a structured screening protocol for case workers and an integrated referral pathway. This initiative ensures timely access to specialist SALT assessments is maintained once young people enter the justice system, enabling tailored support aligned with a child-centred approach to service delivery. Working with the YJS supports caseworkers in building a holistic understanding of the young person and enables them to tailor communication in developmentally appropriate ways, ensuring the young person can meaningfully engage with and benefit from support and interventions provided.
Conclusion and future implications
Systematic screening for communication needs, combined with the implementation of tailored support strategies, is essential in tackling developmental and psychosocial challenges faced by vulnerable young people, particularly those at risk of disengagement from education or becoming involved with the justice system. Early identification of SLCNs during interactions with a PRU or YJS presents a valuable opportunity for proactive intervention. These efforts help disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline by ensuring that communication difficulties are both recognised and meaningfully supported. Targeted input enables young people to develop effective coping strategies, which can be critical in reducing incidents of defiance, aggression, or withdrawal—behaviours often seen as precursors to disciplinary action or intervention from the justice system. Addressing SLCNs through early, coordinated intervention is an essential step towards breaking cycles of disadvantage and enabling every young person to thrive.
References
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Defending Vulnerability 