MORE than 30 schools have helped Bradford become a leader in helping children with communication problems reach their potential.

Schools across the district have celebrated being awarded the status of “communication friendly schools,” with more likely to achieve the status in the coming year.

Yesterday, at an event in City Hall, schools and education staff celebrated the fact that 30 schools gained the status from the Elkan Group, which takes a year to achieve.

Almost half of children in Bradford start school with experts describe as “impoverished” language skills, and in some areas this figure can be as high as eight out of ten.

Marie Gascoigne, a speech therapist who spoke at yesterday’s event, said that poor communication skills early in life could lead to lasting problems. Communication problems can include children who have a limited vocabulary, or who start school with English only as a second language.

The schools involved saw all staff, from cafeteria workers to cleaners, trained in communication skills, and new teaching strategies brought into the classroom. Staff say the changes have benefitted all students, even those without communication problems. Improvements staff have noticed include increased independence.

Only a quarter of children who start primary school with communication problems achieve their academic potential by the end of primary school, and six in ten of those in young offenders institutes have such problems.

The schools, including some in Bradford city centre as well as others in more affluent areas of the district like Ilkley and Haworth, have been working with Bradford Council’s Special Educational Needs team.

Speaking at the event, Mrs Gascoigne said: “Bradford is leading the way with this. You started this and you are ahead of the curve.”

She said that overall “hundreds” of staff throughout the district had been trained to help young people and that schools were continuing to develop their strategies, even if they already have the accreditation.

Guests were told that roughly one per cent of children in Bradford’s schools started with “significant” communication, speech or language needs, which amounted to 1,400 young people across the district. A further 10,000 had significant but not as serious problems, and in total there could be as many as 3,500 schoolchildren in Bradford with communication problems.

Mrs Gascoigne added: “These children will not all need specialised teaching, but what they will need is schools that have been developed to give them an environment and a workforce that provides them with what they need.

“Hopefully this will allow these children to catch up.”

During the event teachers and pupils from the schools showed off displays they had created highlighting the successes of the scheme, and how using role play and pictures can help young children expand their vocabulary.

Michael Jameson, Bradford Council’s strategic director of children’s services, said: “Communication is of course a fundamental building block for equipping children with the skills they need to prosper in life.

“This initiative is a great example of the measures we are taking to deliver the best possible education to young people across the district.”

Councillor Ralph Berry, portfolio holder for Children’s and Young People’s Services, said: “The district is fast becoming a leader in this area and I congratulate everyone who is working so hard to achieve that.”

Schools that were accredited were All Saints in Ilkley, Blakehill Primary School, Baildon CofE school, Clayton CofE school, Crossflats Primary, Crossley Hall Primary, Denholme Primary, Fagley Primary, Girlington Primary, Green Lane Primary, Haworth Primary, High Craggs Primary, Hill Top Primary, Holycroft, Lillycroft, Laytop Primary, Saltaire Primary School, Nessfield, Oldfield, Thornton and Wilsden Primary Schools. A further 12 are working towards accreditation next year.