Concern as some children in Peterborough schools fall behind in language skills

The number of five and six-year-old children in Peterborough needing support with their speech and language skills has risen.

Absence from school during the Covid-19 lockdown has been blamed for much of the increase in the number of youngsters who have fallen behind with their communication skills.

New figures show that in the academic year 2021/22, there were 200 Year One pupils in Peterborough who required help to bring their speech and language abilities up to the expected standard.

That is up on the 174 youngsters needing support in 2019/20 and a big jump on 2015/16 when there were 102 Year One youngsters in need of help to improve their communication skills.

Across the country language support in the first year of school has risen 10 per cent in the past year - three times that of recent rises.

The Year one age group saw a larger increase in special educational needs language than any other year group.

The Government has promised to spend £180 million of over the next three years to focus on children’s development in their earliest years.

Minister for Schools and Childhood, Kelly Tolhurst, said: “The early years of a child’s life are vital to establishing important developmental skills and in building a lifelong love of learning that will help them succeed in adult life.

“This package of support is a huge investment in their skills and professional development, because raising the status of this important sector is key to its growth.”

A Peterborough City Council spokesperson said: “The lock down will certainly have contributed to the rise in children who require support with speech and language skills.

"Over the months of 2020-2021 children were not attending their normal provision for periods of time and missed out on a whole range of experiences at a critical stage of their development and this no doubt exacerbated challenges some young children were already facing.

“We have our speech and language Hubs in the city that can support schools with children that require additional support around speech and language needs.

"We are working closely with Speech and Language Therapists to look at training opportunities and the quality first teaching in our schools.”