If you spend any amount of time in a school, you’ll hear phrases like “We’re a reading school,” “Reading is at the heart of everything we do,” and “Don’t forget to Drop Everything And Read.”
Lovely stuff.
Very wholesome.
Children surrounded by books like tiny, chaotic librarians.
But here’s something we don’t talk about nearly enough:
How on earth are children supposed to read, infer, decode, comprehend, or even guess what a fronted adverbial is… when they’re struggling to communicate in the first place?
Speech and language needs are one of the biggest, fastest-growing challenges in education — but you’d barely know it from how schools are resourced.
Reading gets posters, assemblies, badges, giant cardboard book characters, and possibly a parade.
Speech and language gets… well… usually a single overbooked specialist and a box of slightly frayed picture cards from 2007.
👧 A Personal Note: When Talking Doesn’t Come Easy
My own daughter was a late talker.
Not just “fashionably late.”
Not even “oh she’ll get there in her own time, love.”
No — properly late. The kind of late where you start Googling until your phone gently asks if you’re alright.
And in our case, her delayed speech was one of the first signs that something was different.
It eventually led to her autism diagnosis — and a whole new understanding of how much communication shapes a child’s world:
- how they learn
- how they play
- how they make sense of other humans (an impossible task at the best of times)
- and how they see themselves
So when I had the chance to speak with Jane Harris, CEO of Speech and Language UK, for my Make it Make SENDs podcast… I grabbed it.
🎙️ The Conversation We Need to Have
Jane is at the forefront of the national conversation about speech and language needs — and also at the forefront of reminding us that we’re not actually having the conversation loudly enough.
In the episode, we talk about:
- why so many children are struggling with communication
- why early identification is life-changing
- how schools can support pupils even without a dedicated specialist
- what’s wrong (and what’s hopeful) about current SEND reforms
- why listening properly might be the most powerful intervention of all
She brings research, humanity, humour and — crucially — solutions.
Not just more paperwork (we’ve got more than enough of that, thank you).
▶️ Listen to the Episode
Make it Make SENDs #5 : Music and Inclusivity – is it even possible? with Kate Campbell-Green – Detention Diaries
- Make it Make SENDs #5 : Music and Inclusivity – is it even possible? with Kate Campbell-Green
- Detention Diaries #5 – Redefining Masculinity: What does it really mean to be a man?
- Detention Diaries #4 What Teachers Really Need: Ross McGill on Workload, Wellbeing & the Future of Schools
- Make it Make SENDS #4 – Aiming for the Edges with Dr Shelley Moore. How inclusion REALLY works!
- Make it Make SENDs #3 – Talking About Talking: Jane Harris on Fixing the Speech and Language Crisis
😂 And Now For Something Mildly Ridiculous
Because this is Detention Diaries, I’ll leave you with something very British and very true:
If schools treated speech and language support the way they treat reading, we’d have:
- a “Talkathon Week”
- assemblies where teachers dramatically pronounce syllables
- posters saying “Talking Takes You Places!”
- and a dedicated display board titled “Our Oracy Champions” featuring a photo of that one kid who never stops chatting and has far too much confidence for a Monday morning.
Honestly, I’m not saying it would fix everything.
But I’m also not not saying that.
Thanks for reading — and a massive thank-you to Jane Harris for joining me on the podcast and for the vital work she continues to do for children, families and schools.
If you haven’t already, come join the community at www.detentiondiaries.com, and follow the chaos on Instagram, X, and YouTube.
Because sometimes, the most important conversations start long before the reading book even
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