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Training Institute, which is at the forefront of research and training in the field of language disorders. The Institute is part of the school and college


but focuses on work which has potential benefits for professionals and children with DLD external to the school in three areas: research, training and resources. Its staff collaborate with school staff to carry out research into effective practices with children with DLD which is then published in international peer-reviewed journals, thus improving the evidence base for interventions for children with DLD. Training courses are also developed and


offered to professionals working with school- aged children with language disorders, either face-to-face, or online. These courses are well- respected and attended by professionals from all over the world. Institute staff also develop resources for working with children with DLD and related disorders. These can help with identifying targets and monitoring progress (for example in life skills, or in development of grammar) and with intervention delivery (for example via an app for supporting grammar development). These three strands of work ensure that our


therapy sessions, small groups and whole class lessons, in conjunction with the teachers. The teachers and SLTs jointly plan and co-deliver subjects with high linguistic demands such as English and Science. SLTs’ input into lessons is varied and includes vocabulary instruction, small group grammar or phonological awareness teaching, social interaction skills practice or individual support for generalisation of word finding strategies. Co-teaching also gives SLTs opportunities to model differentiation of language levels and use of specialist strategies such as the SHAPE CODING™ system, signing with grammatical markers and Cued Articulation. SLTs also meet regularly with teachers to evaluate students’ language and learning goals.


Occupational therapy also plays a key role - can you tell us more about this? Moor House has a large Occupational Therapy (OT) team based at the school and college. The OTs work collaboratively with the multidisciplinary team to ensure students can reach their maximum potential. The team run universal intervention programmes, which include training all staff to deliver whole school therapeutic approaches, travel training for all year groups and a whole school & college approach for helping student manage their sensory needs, alertness levels and emotional regulation. The OT team run group interventions focusing on handwriting, touch typing and life skills. The OTs also provide direct 1:1 sessions to


develop students’ foundation and functional skills to improve their participation throughout the day. This could be getting dressed, using cutlery, handwriting, scissor skills, improving participation in sports and different areas of life skills needed for independent living.


What do students and parents say about Moor House? Ofsted Care rate the overall experiences and progress of children and young people at Moor House as outstanding. One student said, “The staff have saved my life, because I feel much better about myself and who I am as a person, what I can achieve, so my life is now better.”


March 2021 Emma is in year 12, having been at Moor


House since Year 7. Her mother Veronica says: “At Moor House, Emma has thrived because of the multi-disciplinary support she is immersed in, the expertise of the staff and the understanding of her peers. “As a parent, all you want for your children is


for them to be happy. Moor House has given Emma the same opportunities as her peers and a choice over her future. “We can now visualise Emma with an


independent future and more importantly, Emma can imagine that for herself. She is not afraid of new challenges and is very assertive.”


You also have a research and training institute. How does this contribute to the school? Research and Training has always been a strength of Moor House. We carry out research within the school and college into the most effective methods of intervention and teaching for our students. This helps to ensure that the methods we use lead to the greatest progress possible and provides evidence of the student outcomes. Evidence-based resources are also developed


which are available to staff, parents and students before being publicly available. Staff are actively encouraged to participate in


research projects and supported to design and carry out their own research studies. This provides professional development and learning for staff which translates into more effective practices with students. Additionally, our staff also benefit from


training, delivered by leaders in the field who work onsite, whilst also benefiting from networking opportunities with other professionals who attend our courses from all over the world.


How do you help children with DLD who do not attend your school & college? One of our core priorities is to share the benefits of the work undertaken here more widely, both in the UK and globally, so that as many people as possible can be supported through the knowledge and expertise developed here. To this end, we set up the Moor House Research and


expertise can support children and professionals far beyond our school community.


You also provide training for mainstream teachers about the best ways for them to support pupils with DLD. What are the top tips you would give? Mainstream teachers can support children through understanding the individual child’s difficulties and by making very simple adaptations to their teaching practice. Ten key strategies are:


• TIME - to process information and instructions


• VISUAL SUPPORT – visual timetables, language rich displays and clear/simple signage.


• SIGN IT – gesture, facial expressions and body language. • DO IT – multi-sensory teaching approach.


• MODIFY YOUR LANGUAGE – rate of speech! One instruction at a time. Keep sentences short and concise. Simplify vocabulary • CHUNK INFORMATION – pause. Repeat! Be explicit, use literal language.


• WORDS – explicitly teach key vocabulary. • SMALL STEPS – break down tasks.


• REPEAT IT – recap previous learning. Do activities more than once but make small changes each time.


• MODEL IT – whether spoken or written, model the language you want the pupil to use.


These ten strategies should not be viewed as


‘extra workload’ for teachers. Supporting pupils with Developmental Language Disorder is really just about good classroom practice, making lessons visual/practical, prioritising vocabulary, varying teaching approaches, using innovative resources, being consistent and allowing time for consolidation of learning.


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