Children’s Speech & Language Therapy

Our Speech and Language Therapists can:

• Assess speech, language and communication development, skills and difficulties.
• Assess eating and drinking difficulties.
• Make a diagnosis.
• Develop an intervention plan and work with families and carers to implement it.
• Decide when treatment is complete and the child can be discharged.
• Support onward referrals as necessary

Our team

Our team includes qualified Speech and Language Therapists, Speech and Language Therapy Assistants, specialist nursery nurses and volunteers.

If you’re considering a career as a Speech and Language Therapist, explore the role and the necessary steps here.

Where you can Find Us

We provide our service at these locations:

• Burnham Clinic
• Livewell Hub, Braintree
• Stapleford House
• Crouch Vale Medical Centre
• St Peter’s Hospital, Main Building, Maldon
• Witham Health Centre
• Halstead Hospital

Plus:

• Three special schools
• Five speech and language centres/enhanced provisions
• Three enhanced provisions for children with hearing impairment
• Mainstream schools and numerous mainstream early years settings, such as pre-schools and nurseries.

How to refer to the Children’s Speech and Language team

• If your child is above the age of 1 and have eating and/or drinking difficulties you can phone the Care Coordination Centre or they can be referred by their school, nursery, health visitor, social care or GP.
• All school aged children are referred by their school, please see the information below for the referral form and Information pack.
• Children with an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP) whose specified therapy is over and above the core provision commissioned by health are seen by the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) team – for more information click here.
• We do not currently provide a service for secondary aged children, unless they attend a special school.
• For children aged 2 years 6 months until they start their reception year at school (until the August, before a child starts school in the September) with a mid-Essex GP, you can book a Communication Station appointment without needing to complete a referral. Please call 0300 303 9960 between 8-8:30 on the day of the Communication Station to get a booked appointment for the same day, until the slots are filled. Details of dates and locations can be found below.
• If your child is younger than 2 years 6 months, we recommend starting with our parent training video:
  ‘Supporting Language Development in Babies and Toddlers’. This video will offer practical tips, strategies, and activities you can use at home to support your child’s communication skills while you wait until they reach the referral age.
• Please also see the downloads on our website, including this resource Universally Speaking – ‘The ages and stages of children’s communication development from birth to 5’.
• If translation services are required, there are safeguarding concerns or you are unable to attend a Communication Station and you require a pre-booked appointment, please complete a referral form. Click the writing to download a form. Please state on the form that you require a pre-booked appointment. There is an up to 18 week wait for pre-booked appointments.

Upcoming Communication Station dates and locations:

Communication Stations are 15 minute appointments that involve meeting a Speech and Language Therapist to assess or review your child’s speech, language and communication through listening to your current concerns, observation and play. We will then offer advice and/or ensure that your child is put on the correct care pathway.

Crouch Vale Medical Centre Burnham Road, South Woodham Ferrers, Chelmsford CM3 5QP

Wednesday 15 October AM – please call 0300 303 9960 8-8:30am on 15.10.25 to book an appointment. Please have your child’s NHS number ready.

St Peters Hospital Assessment and Rehabilitation Unit (ARU) Spital Road, Maldon CM9 6EG

Friday 26 September AM – please call 0300 303 9960 8-8:30am on 26.09.25 to book an appointment. Please have your child’s NHS number ready.

Friday 24 October AM – please call 0300 303 9960 8-8:30am on 24.10.25 to book an appointment. Please have your child’s NHS number ready.

Stapleford House Children’s Centre 103 Stapleford Close, Chelmsford CM2 0QX

Thursday 25 September AM and PM – please call 0300 303 9960 8-8:30am on 25.09.25 to book an appointment. Please have your child’s NHS number ready.

Thursday 9 October AM – please call 0300 303 9960 8-8:30am on 09.10.25 to book an appointment. Please have your child’s NHS number ready.

Thursday 30 October AM and PM – please call 0300 303 9960 8-8:30am on 30.10.25 to book an appointment. Please have your child’s NHS number ready.

Witham Health Centre 4 Mayland Road, Witham CM8 2UX

Tuesday 7 October AM – please call 0300 303 9960 8-8:30am on 07.10.25 to book an appointment. Please have your child’s NHS number ready.

Livewell Hub, Victoria Square, Manor Street, Braintree, CM7 3YL

Friday 19 September AM & PM – please call 0300 303 9960 8-8:30am on 19.09.25 to book an appointment. Please have your child’s NHS number ready.

Friday 17 October AM & PM – please call 0300 303 9960 8-8:30am on 17.10.25 to book an appointment. Please have your child’s NHS number ready.

Halstead Hospital Rehabilitation Unit 78 Hedingham Rd, Halstead CO9 2DL.

Friday 3 October AM – please call 0300 303 9960 8-8:30am on 03.10.25 to book an appointment. Please have your child’s NHS number ready.

Referral for children in Mainstream Schools

We accept referrals for:

School-aged children with speech, language and communication needs.

• All children presenting with stammering/stuttering should be referred at the earliest opportunity.
• Children who may have Selective Mutism should be referred if they continue to find it difficult to use their speech with a range of people in school, after one term.
• Children with voice difficulties should be directed to the GP to request that they are referred to ENT.
• Please see above for referring children who have swallowing (dysphagia) needs.

School aged children are referred by their school, please view our referral form and pre-referral advice below.  

For Parents: School settings are skilled at supporting children with speech, language or communication difficulties. They have a range of resources and expertise available to them to support all children with their communication.  If you have concerns about your child’s speech, language or communication development please first discuss these with your child’s teacher or SENCo; there will be support and advice they can offer for you and your child, to support their progress.

For Schools: If you feel that a child requires specialist speech and language input, having already provided school-based support for a minimum of one term, please refer to us.

For GPs or other professionals: If making a referral in discussion with family, please fill in our referral form below, indicating parental consent for us to liaise with the school SENCO as the first step in understanding the needs of the child

How to make a referral:

1) Carry out interventions that provide a targeted level of support with the pupil for a minimum of one term e.g. One plan, specific interventions to support language that are already available to you as a school.

2) If concerns persist, please fill out our referral form in full with the child’s parents/guardians, indicating parental consent for the referral and for us to liaise with you as SENCO if needed, via our Telephone Referral Advice line.

3) Send the referral form to the Provide Care Co-ordination Centre as directed on the form.

Contact Children’s Speech and Language

Email – provide.childrenSLT@nullnhs.net

Please note: Our email accounts are not secure so we ask that you do not include confidential information within the email.

Please also contact the CCC by calling 0300 1310 111, please select option 5 followed by option 1.

This information is also on this page called How to refer to a Speech and Language Therapist