Brighton & Hove Inclusion Support Service (BHISS) Early Language support Team (ELST)

Early Language Support Team

We help support children who are in their last year of nursery or pre-school and have been diagnosed with highly significant speech, language and communication needs (SLCN).

Examples of SLCN include difficulties with listening, understanding, and/or talking.

Our team:

• gives advice, support and training to parents and nursery and pre-school staff, including how to make changes in the nursery or home environment to improve communication
• gives advice about visual supports that can be used to improve language
• sets up and supports language groups
• creates individual support plans for each child, which can be carried out by staff at their nursery or pre-school
• see children in their own homes, as well as at nursery or pre-school, so the support plan can include their full range of needs and environments
• provides training and workshops for parents carers and staff such as Makaton, which is a language programme that uses signs and symbols to help people communicate
• works closely with other BHISS teams

How to get support from us

Talk to your child's Special Educational Needs Coordinator or Speech and Language Therapist if you think your child needs support from BHISS.