How to embed the WellComm toolkit into everyday practice

The WellComm toolkit is designed to identify and respond to children’s Speech, Language and Communication (SLC) difficulties in the early years. The following top tips will help you to effectively embed the use of the WellComm screening process and interventions into your everyday provision. Lots of schools and settings are already doing this and are happy to help you! This support can be accessed through the Speech and Language and Communication Hub.

Carrying out the screen

It's beneficial for all staff in your team and setting to be aware of the WellComm toolkit and have accessed training to ensure a whole setting approach to the WellComm. Training can be accessed via:

an initial live WellComm training session delivered online by an ETFY Speech and Language Therapist
a pre-recorded training session via the GL assessment website

You should agree a timeline and approach for carrying out screens and putting interventions in place that works for you and your team. For example, you might choose to complete all screens in the first few weeks of term or to spread screens out over a longer period. This will be unique for your setting.

Staff should have protected time to complete WellComm screens helps to ensure that screens are completed on time and are manageable.

It's best practice for screens to be completed by a member of staff who knows the child well for example, the child’s key worker and it's helpful to have assessment materials (including resources) organised and stored together so they are ready to use at any time.

Annual screens need to be completed within the Autumn term and data submitted in January each year.

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Recording outcomes

An important part of embedding the WellComm into everyday practice is to have a system in place to record outcomes and track progress. This helps you keep an overview of all your children in one easy place. This could be done using:

a WellComm tracker sheet. Settings can use this premade template to help track children’s progress using the WellComm toolkit and keep a record of interventions
a subscription to the WellComm Online Report Wizard
the WellComm Group Profile Sheet at the back of the scoresheets in the Little Book of Scoresheets and Rules. This is a basic paper record that can be photocopied and repeated to track progress

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Planning and carrying out interventions

There are many benefits of embedding WellComm into your everyday practice. For example, it creates lots of opportunities for modelling target language, a number of children can be supported at once, it’s more likely to lead to generalisation of skills. The following will help you and your team to make WellComm part of your everyday practice:

allow planning time as a team to discuss outcomes from WellComm screens and identify any common themes and gaps in children’s knowledge
when planning areas of provision discuss identified themes and consider how to create opportunities to model the target language in different areas
display target language around the setting so all staff are aware and reminded
consider how you can bring target language into everyday activities for example, circle time and snack time
make use of the WellComm ‘Big Book of Ideas’, which contains pre planned activities. These can be done individually, in groups or whole setting – little and often is good
share targets and activity suggestions with parents so they can support their child at home. It's permitted to photocopy pages from the Big Book of Ideas for this purpose

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Further support with embedding WellComm into everyday practice

You can access further support about the WellComm by:

attending WellComm workshops - these monthly workshops provide advice and training around how to use activities and ideas from the ‘Big Book of Ideas’ as well as how to embed strategies into everyday practice. There are opportunities for those attending to share their own experience and ideas from using the WellComm and to bring any questions to the group
contacting the Speech Language and Communication Hub - a group of practitioners with experience and training in SLC who can be contacted to provide support with any aspects of WellComm
applying for a York University Student in Schools volunteer to support with WellComm

If you have any questions or comments about WellComm as part of Early Talk for York email: [email protected].

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