Children's Speech and Language Therapy

The Croydon Children’s Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) service provide speech, language, communication and eating and drinking support, for children and young people in the borough of Croydon, from birth to their 19th birthday. 

To access the service, children and young people must have a Croydon address or are registered with a Croydon GP.

We aim to reduce the impact of speech language and communication needs (SLCN) and eating and drinking difficulties, helping each child reach their full potential.

How we work:

  • Focus on the child and their family
  • Raising awareness of communication needs
  • Address health inequalities and remove access barriers
  • Collaborate with other services and professionals

The service works to the Balanced System® supporting children, young people and their families, nurseries, schools and educational settings at a universal, targeted and specialist level in order to fulfil the service vision. We work in partnership with service users, their families/carers, other professionals and the general public to raise awareness and understanding of communication and eating and drinking difficulties, in order to reduce barriers that may exist for the people we serve.

The Balanced System ®:

We follow the Balanced System®, a strategic approach to supporting children with communication and eating needs. This approach helps us work together with families, speech and language therapists and other professionals to ensure successful outcomes for children and young people. 

The core five strands of the Balanced System are:

  • Supporting parents, young people and families
  • Enhancing and adapting the environment
  • Developing the workforce
  • Identifying need
  • Providing appropriate intervention

Universal support

Promoting good communication skills and development in all children and young people, regardless of their skills in this area. This support includes:

  • Training to raise awareness of speech, language and communication needs
  • Training to support early identification
  • General advice and online resources

Targeted support

For children and young people who need some extra support to develop their communication, but these needs can be met by parents, carers and key people within their environment. These key people can initiate and access further support from a Speech and Language Therapist if needed. 

Support from the Speech and Language Therapists is provided through:

  • Group activities like Chatterbox and language programs (e.g Talk Boost)
  • Preschool screening and advice clinics for parents 

Specialist support

For children and young people with significant communication needs requiring specialist support from a Speech and Language Therapist. This may include input by a Speech and Language Therapist, a Speech and Language Therapy Assistant or setting staff, but will require direct oversight of a Speech and Language Therapist.