We offer a wide variety of training groups for parents/carers and teaching assistants at Health Services at Wolves and the Child Development Centre at Sandy Lane.
Your speech and language therapist will recommend the most appropriate training package for you to support your child or young person. This is an essential part of their therapy programme.
Your speech and language therapist will give you information on how the training packages can be accessed.
If you are invited on one of these groups, please do not bring your child/young person as we are unable to provide childcare.
If you are unable to attend, please let us know as soon as possible as places on training are always in high demand. You will be invited to attend at a different time if you are still interested.
Below you can find out more about each training session.
Early Years
Early Communication Skills Group
Aimed at young children who are not yet talking or only using a few first words.
This group will help you understand how non-verbal and verbal language develops in young children.
It will give you ideas to support your child’s attention and listening skills, non-verbal communication as well as spoken language. Support to implement the advice will be provided.
Early Language Parent Group
Aimed at young children who are not yet talking or only using a few first words.
This group will help you understand how language develops in young children and give you ideas to support your child’s use of spoken language at home.
Fluency Parent Group
For parents of children who stammer.
You will learn more about why children stammer and how to support your child in developing improved fluency.
You will have the opportunity to ask questions, get lots of practical advice and an information pack to take home.
This group is also your gateway into 1:1 speech therapy, if this is the most appropriate next step for your child.
Makaton
Makaton signing is a common signing system used to help children understand and learn new words.
Many schools and nurseries across Warrington use Makaton signs with children. You may even have seen Mr Tumble sign on CBeebies.
We offer a practical demonstration session of early Makaton signs that you can use at home with your child or children in your setting.
You will also learn about common myths and facts about Makaton signs, as well as lots of practise making the signs.
Hanen
Our Hanen parent training programme “Sharing the Message” is based on “It Takes Two To Talk”.
The programme is designed to help parents/carers learn how to develop their child’s communication skills at home.
Under the guidance of Hanen qualified Speech & Language Therapists, parents/carers learn to use language-building strategies with the child during everyday activities.
These strategies motivate the child to communicate and help them to develop more mature communication skills.
Hanen is offered to parents/carers of children who attend the Child Development Centre.
School-Aged
Auditory Memory
For children who have difficulty retaining information.
These children might often forget long instructions, or have difficulty picking up new information in home and school.
This half day session will give strategies and activities to support the child to become an active listener.
Narrative
For children who have difficulties telling a story and sequencing.
This half day session discusses why narrative is so important and how to support children using WH questions such as who, what, where and when, to organise their stories and thoughts.
Verbal Reasoning
For children who have difficulties with more abstract and complex reasoning questions.
You will learn about the 4 levels of questioning and activities to support the child to develop at each level. Level 1 is naming things (‘what is it?’) , level 2 describing things (‘can you find one that’s the same’), level 3 is talking about stories and events (‘what will he say?’), and level 4 is solving problems and answering why questions (‘Why were they late?’).
Vocabulary
For children who struggle to find the right word.
You will learn how vocabulary develops and strategies and activities to support the child such as categorising (e.g. dogs and cats are animals, apple and banana are foods) and word webs.
Social Communication 1
For primary aged children who have difficulties with social communication skills.
This session gives you practical information to support emotional understanding, behaviour and friendship skills.
Social Communication 2
For secondary aged children and young people who had difficulties with social communication skills.
This two part training will teach you about the social difficulties a young person may have including understanding another’s point of view, body language, imagination and conversation skills.
It also gives you practical information to support them in school and home.
Talkabout
Teaching Assistants will learn how to set up and assess social skills by setting up a group in school.
Areas that will be covered include self-awareness/ self-esteem, understanding body language, conversation and assertiveness skills.
There may be opportunities to provide bespoke and extended training for whole school or larger groups teaching staff, e.g. inset days or after school.
Please contact us directly for information on content and cost.