A BRADFORD school has been recognised for the work its staff does to build their communication skills.

St Matthew’s Catholic Primary School in Allerton has been awarded ‘Communication Friendly School’ status. The accreditation takes a year to complete and was awarded by the Elklan group, which specialises in speech and language training.

In order to gain the accreditation, four of the school's staff gained formal qualifications in supporting speech, language and communication needs.

The training was then disseminated to all teachers and teaching assistants at St Matthew’s, enabling them to support pupils both in the classroom and the playground.

They received their certificates earlier this month, and the new skills will help them better help children at the school with language or speech difficulties.

Head Katy Cox said: “We are delighted to have received the Communication Friendly status.

“This award recognises how hard the staff work and our commitment to supporting every child’s speech, language and communication development.”

Elkan was developed by speech and language therapists Liz Elks and Henrietta McLachlan in 1999, and has trained thousands of teachers since then.