Working with a link therapist
A link therapist is a named speech and language therapist who builds a relationship with a school and supports the school to develop provision for speech, language and communication at the universal, targeted and specialist levels. This way of working will improve outcomes for all children and enable children to access support at the right level at the right time. The link therapist supports the Balanced System® principle of place-based support, meaning that support is delivered in the most functionally appropriate and relevant place for the child or young person, for their development and learning.
The link therapist is the lead point of contact for the school around any of the speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) of children across the school. Link therapist time is allocated based on need, so schools with higher levels of SLCN are likely to require more time than schools with lower levels of need.