“The impact of this will last forever” – Primary school celebrates success of pioneering national language development programme

Beal Vale Primary School in Shaw has celebrated the success of the Early Language Support for Every Child (ELSEC) programme with a special event led by headteacher Adil Rashid and his dedicated team.

The event brought together educators, practitioners, health professionals and parents — who work every day to give our  children the very best start in life —  to recognise the remarkable progress being made in supporting children’s early language and communication.

The ELSEC programme, jointly led by Oldham Council, Oldham Parent Carer Forum and health partners from Oldham and the Greather Manchester Integrated Care Partnership, places specialist teams in schools and early years settings to support speech and language needs, particularly for children with SEND.

The Department for Education and NHS England are funding nine ELSEC pathfinders, one per Department for Education region, and Oldham is one of the pioneering areas leading on this work.

The programme brings in specialist local authority teams alongside ELSEC leads from Oldham Parent Carer Forum to help children find their voices and flourish, with early assessment and intervention to prevent serious needs later.

Beal Vale, which is part of the Crompton House Multi-Academy Trust allowing them to collaborate closely with other schools and benefit from shared expertise, identified early language as an area where children needed additional support.

The school motto is Learning is for Life – Enjoy the Journey, and this belief in learning as a lifelong journey was a key reason why Mr Rashid and his team chose to be one of 10 schools in the borough to be part of the ELSEC pilot in Oldham.

Headteacher Adil Rashid wit Cabinet Member for Education and Skills Cllr Mohon Ali

Since joining the ELSEC pilot, the school has seen a significant impact, with children more confident in expressing themselves, parents better equipped to support language at home and teachers with strengthened skills and confidence.

The school is committed to continuing its ELSEC journey, so its children will benefit for many years to come.

Guests at the celebration saw some of interventions and assessments that have taken place with Beal Vale pupils, toured the school’s communication-friendly classrooms and heard from parents about their experiences.

At Beal Vale, pupils are greeted at the door with a warm welcome to encourage engagement, and in the classroom  visual timetables are used to help communicate to children about what to expect from their school day.

The school uses neutral colours to create a calm, supportive atmosphere that helps pupils to feel comfortable and focused.

Neutral colours are used at Beal Vale school

Carrigan Hoyle and Jake Davies joined the celebration with their sons, Silas and Theo, sharing their delight that the brothers are now speaking with growing confidence.

Mr Rashid said: “Our motto is Learning for Life, and we wanted to equip staff to support our children to make progress academically and also socially and emotionally.

“Our children with communication and language needs have made masses of progress, and individual needs have been picked up. The legacy of this is that staff and pupils have been so well equipped, the impact of this will last forever and I am so incredibly proud.

“We have noticed three things as a result of this programme – children are more confident, in speaking with their peers, they are putting their hands up and engaging in lessons and are able to share their learning with others.”

A key tool to be trialled in Oldham has been the WellComm assessment, used to measure and identify children’s speech and language skills.

Guests including Cllr Mohon Ali Cabinet Member for Education and Skills smiling at the Beal Vale ELSEC celebration

ELSEC was launched in Oldham last September and across the first year, and 763 staff have received training throughout the 10 schools.

Cllr Mohon Ali, Oldham’s Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, said:  “Here in Oldham, we know language is the foundation for learning, relationships, and opportunity. That’s why we’re strengthening partnerships, investing in speech and language support, and empowering families to give children the best start in life.

“Today was about celebration, but also commitment that together we can make language a bridge to learning, confidence, and brighter futures.”