My child will be starting primary school soon. What can I do to support them?

All education settings will have a qualified teacher who specialises in supporting pupils who may have additional educational needs. This person is usually called a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo). Whether you are yet to apply for your child’s school place, or already have a place confirmed, you can ask to speak with this person, or to see the school’s Special Educational Needs (SEN) policy. This will give you the opportunity to find out how the SENCo and other staff will support your child, and to ask any questions you may have.

Your child’s Speech and Language Therapist can also work with the SENCo and other school staff, to provide them with stammering training, strategies and resources to support your child at school.

Research suggests that children may stammer more when they are tired, feeling unwell or hungry. This may be something that is helpful to consider as they settle into a new routine which may be quite different to that which they experienced prior to starting school.

Please feel free to mention Action Stammering Children to your child’s teachers. We have a wide range of information and resources which have been created to help education professionals increase their knowledge of stammering and to feel more confident in creating supportive and inclusive school environments for children who stammer.

Useful resources you can share with your school:

• Support for schools website page
• Stammer Awareness Toolkit
• Stammering Support Hub