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We’re working with community health providers to help government primary schools:
- give young children better access to speech pathology services
- increase teacher understanding, skills and confidence to support children who have speech, language and communication needs.
The program helps select primary schools to increase their capability to support speech and language development outcomes of students and supports access to a suite of evidence-based resources and professional learning opportunities.
Locations
The program will run at selected schools in these areas:
- Mallee
- Wimmera South West
- Inner Gippsland
- Outer Gippsland
Funding
The 2018-19 state budget included $8.2 million over four years to procure external speech pathology services for Victorian government schools. The Victorian Government is extending the program for 12 months, to 30 June 2023.
Background
According to the School Entrant Health Questionnaire, 16.4% of parents reported that their child has speech and language needs in 2021.
Oral language is key to learning to read and write and is critical for supporting the development of children’s early literacy skills. A lack of proficient literacy has far-reaching consequences for students and society.
Reviewed 11 October 2022