Rochdale Speech, Language and Communication Toolkit

Some of the below links will take you to an external website.

GMCA parent child interaction support package is a virtual package of information, strategies and signposting to support the development of children’s speech, language and communication skills from 18 months up to 2.5 years.

Speaking Dadly encourages dads to talk to and communicate with their child from birth.

DadPad contains important information on what to expect and how to care for their baby. We listened to what dads, their partners and professionals asked for and combined it all in this new dad pad for dads to be. 

Dadly does it aim was to find new ways and activities to improve the well-being of disadvantaged fathers and to understand whether or not this improves the well-being of their children.

Essential Parent is a website supporting parents and carers of children aged 0 to 19 years. This can include leaflets and videos with information about a range of topics including speech, language, communication, feeding, toileting and sleep. 

Tiny Happy People has been designed by the BBC and can help you to develop your child's language and communication skills, so that they get the best start for life. 

Some of the play activities and resources have been co designed with local speech and language therapy teams and this includes a Greater Manchester edition of the tiny happy people nursery rhyme book.  See BBC Tiny Happy People nursery rhyme book on their website.

Speech and Language UK is a charity aimed to provide advice and guidance to parents, carers and professionals to support children with speech, language and communication needs. 

What to expect when? is a guide for parents and carers focusing on your child's learning and development in the early years. 

National Literacy Trust is a website resource full of activities, tools and resources for early language development and parental engagement during the early years and beyond. See words for life on their website.

Better Health start for life tips and activities with video clips to continue to help to develop your child's speech, language and communication development on the better health website:

• 0 to 6 months
• 1 to 2 years
• 2 to 3 years
• 3 to 5 years

Activities available across the borough a resource for different types of activities for the whole family, including sports clubs, parent and toddler groups, play centres, dance and drama classes and local museums and galleries.

Accessible activities across the borough provides details of various activities, clubs and groups for children and young people with individual needs.

Community Maternity Service Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale community midwives provide antenatal care including drop in clinics, parent classes and smoking cessation advice. See pregnancy and mental health leaflet on the GMCA website

Family Hub timetables offering a range of services and support for children pre-birth to 5 years and their families. 

Rochdale library service  See toy library on RBC website and See all library information on RBC website.

Bookstart Baby and Bookstart Bear club 

• Storytime and singing sessions with Bookstart Bear club and Bookstart Baby
• Bookstart Bear club open to all under 5's and their parent and carers
• Bookstart Baby is a session especially for babies up to 15 months and their parents and carers
• Children receive certificates for attending sessions and visiting the library

See Eventbrite to book a place

Reading Friends mums, bumps and babies is a support session for new and expectant mums to talk, ask questions and make new friends. Babies and children are welcome to attend too. 

Bookstart is the world's first national book gifting programme. It is run by the book trust and aims to encourage a love of books, stories and rhymes in children from a young age. 

The Maslaha channel on Youtube offers a range of free resources supporting multilingual families, particularly in the early years. These include

• Learning Through Play a series of short films containing 20 cheap and easy activities that families can do at home with their early years children. Translated in English, Urdu, Sylheti, Somali and Polish.

• Getting Ready for Reception, 10 simple things parents can teach their child before they start school. This resource is available in a video format, or in a poster format, in English, Urdu, Sylheti, Somali, Polish, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, Punjabi and Turkish.

• Helping your child develop literacy skills our videos contain fun activities families can do at home to support their child’s education in Early Years and Key stage 1 and 2. Translated in English, Turkish, Somali, Sylheti, Urdu, Punjabi, Polish, Romanian, Slovak, and Portuguese.

Mama Lisa’s world of children and international culture has songs, lyrics and videos for use with early years.  They have songs and rhymes in lots of home languages and translations.

Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Health Visiting Service are qualified nurses or midwives who have specialist qualifications in community public health. They offer support and encouragement to you and your family from pregnancy and birth, early years, to primary school.

Your local Family Hubs offer Speech, Language and Communication drop in sessions. These sessions are in partnership with the health visiting and speech and language therapy team, to provide 'getting advice' and 'getting help' forms of support, guidance and reassurance to parents and carers for children 0 to 5 years through play. If your child attends an early years setting this information is shared with them so that we continue to work in partnership and as an integrated team. 

School Nursing Map provides contact details for the School Nursing Teams across Rochdale, Heywood and Middleton.

Home Start offers practical and emotional support for any family with a child under 12 years, living in Heywood, Middleton, Rochdale and Pennine.

Barnardo's Rochdale services works in partnership with Rochdale Borough Council to provide a range of borough-wide services for children and young people.

Attached - Stay connected, our vision is to provide top quality speech and language support to all children and families who need it in a prompt and convenient manner.

Some of the below links will take you to an external website.

Rochdale’s early years looking, listening and attention toolkit, this pack contains over 25 looking, listening and attention activities which can be a part of your everyday play with your child. The activities provide suggestions about how to make the activity easier and how to make the activity trickier. here is a resources section that will help you gather any objects you need to use. If you would like a copy of the toolkit please contact us.

Family Hub's run a 6-week ELKLAN let’s talk parents course across the borough of Heywood, Middleton, and Rochdale.  You can check the children's centre timetable to see when the next course is beginning and to know how to book on.

WellComm is a screen and intervene package that can be used with children aged 6 months to 6 years.  This helps to support Early Years practitioners to understand a child’s current level of speech, language, and communication, and then provides a range of targeted activities to continue to develop their skills further. You can ask your Early years provider to provide more information about how it is used in your child’s setting.

While you are waiting for speech and language therapy provides valuable resources and support for children in Rochdale who are awaiting Speech and Language Therapy services.

Some of the below links will take you to an external website.

Following a referral and triage process, the provision of additional specialist help is available to support children to THRIVE where needed.

Children’s integrated community health services. This includes

• Speech and Language Therapy
• Physiotherapy
• Occupational Therapy
• Dietetics
• Children’s epilepsy specialist team
• Children’s neuro muscular specialist team
• Children’s community nursing team
• Children’s complex/palliative care
• Children’s diabetes specialist team
• Children’s respiratory specialist team

Assessments of speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN) by qualified Speech and Language Therapists

The speech and language therapy team can provide support, according to the needs of your child, which can include difficulties with language (including both understanding and the use of language), speech sound production, feeding and swallowing and dysfluency.

Parents, practitioners and young people can refer through the getting help portal or contact the single point of access on 0161 206 0606.

Jolly Josh is a service for families who have children with complex medical needs, profound multiple learning disabilities and/or physical disabilities. Please contact us for further details of how to become a member family of Jolly Josh. All sessions need to be booked in advance.

Additional and ongoing support education, heath and care plans (EHCP) and assessment offers support for children and families who require longer term, specialist support, which cannot be met at the lower levels.