29 March 2006

Children's services professionals meet tomorrow to tackle issues identified by Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY)

The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) will chair a major conference, Shaping the future - meeting children's language and learning needs, at The Glenavon Hotel, Cookstown, on Thursday 30 March 2006.

At the conference, over 180 delegates, including parents, Government representatives, managers, commissioners and practitioners, will discuss solutions to the serious situation outlined in the 2005 Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY) report on speech and language therapy provision.

RCSLT Northern Ireland Country Policy Officer Alison McCullough said, "This is an immensely important conference, addressing speech and language therapy needs for children in Northern Ireland. We will be pulling together all of the key-players for the first time and it will be a great opportunity to start making a real difference to services for children."

"At the conference, we will develop plans to support the implementation of NICCY's recommendations. These will enable SLT services to put into action the guidelines on best practise in commissioning and delivering SLT services for children that we have developed. We will be addressing the lack of speech and language therapists and the uneven provision of SLT services for children Northern Ireland."

RCSLT CEO Kamini Gadhok said, "The RCSLT welcomes the commitment made by to Northern Ireland's children's services to improve speech and language therapy provision in Northern Ireland. We will work closely with NICCY and other organisations in Northern Ireland to ensure that care for children with speech and language difficulties improves."

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