Sarah, a Specialist Speech and Language Teacher and Advisory Outreach Teacher, who works with children and young people from the age of 4 up to 18 years.
“I have used the SLCF in a range of different ways. Firstly, to assess and understand my current level of skill and knowledge and my level of confidence around speech, language and communication. The statements helped me to identify, inform and monitor my performance management targets and provided a measure on which I could evidence progress. At a strategic level it helped me to consider more general areas of development and aspects that would be beneficial to research further.
I’ve also used the SLCF as a vehicle to audit a whole school; teachers and teaching assistants (TAs). Staff found that it was simple to input the information and they can go back from time to time to update their answers as they gain experience. This helps them to record and see the progress they’ve made. It also helped us to highlight areas of CPD which would be beneficial for us as a whole group in order to move practice forward.
Through doing the SLCF as a group, the TAs and teachers found that the SLCF actually gave them a bit of a confidence boost, particularly as the self- assessment showed that they knew more than they perhaps thought they did.
I now use the SLCF as a reference point with the TAs I manage as part of regular supervision meetings and performance management reviews. It helps me to work with them to set their outcomes and goals.
Finally, I’ve also shared the SLCF with other settings in training sessions which I’ve delivered in partnership with Babcock Education, and also in training that I have devised with SLTs in the County. The SLCF helped us to prioritise areas at the universal, enhanced and specialist levels that would be beneficial to cover in our training and to signpost the practitioners to. It also helped us to cross reference and address gaps in knowledge which had been previously been identified across the city by the Local Authority & Health Service.”