PLACES

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  PLACES: Promoting Local Access to Children’s Early language and communication Support

• IRAS ID

  332351

• Contact name

  Lindsay Pennington

• Contact email

  lindsay.pennington@ncl.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  Newcastle University

• Duration of Study in the UK

  2 years, 11 months, 31 days

• Research summary

  This application is for a study within a larger project that is not recruiting children via the NHS and has been approved by Newcastle University Ethics Committee.
  
  The larger project is investigating new approaches to widening access to language support for young children at risk of speech, language and communication difficulties. We are working with parents and early-years professionals from three local authorities (LA) and their partner health and voluntary services to:

  Identify children and families that current early language and communication support is not reaching.
  Adapt evidence-based interventions so they can be used successfully in specific local contexts and reach underserved children.
  Support local professionals and families to use implement approaches.

  We are establishing:
  If the approaches improve children’s language and communication and reach new families
  Whether the approaches change the number of children referred to speech and language therapy
  The cost implications
  What adaptations are important to success in local areas
  How to help services in other areas follow the process and extend their provision

  The early years team in one site (Wolverhampton) is concerned about children who fail their language milestones at 12 months developmental check and who health visitors refer to speech and language therapy at 15 months, after a follow-up visit, and who were not in nursery. Speech and language therapists (SLTs) triage these referrals. One outcome is that families are referred to Stay and Play sessions at Family Hubs, where parents receive advice on how to stimulate their child’s development from local authority staff. Wolverhampton SLT want to offer the language support programme they have selected in adapted Stay and Play sessions staffed by speech and language therapy assistants for children referred to them by health visitors - to be called Chatterbox Stay and Play. This study will examine experiences of staff and families of the adapted pathway and children’s language outcomes.

• REC name

  South West - Central Bristol Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  25/SW/0068

• Date of REC Opinion

  24 Jun 2025

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion