Testimonials

"The Nuffield Speech and Language Unit provides a high quality provision for children with severe, specific speech and language difficulties. It successfully integrates educational and speech and language therapy approaches to provide appropriate support for children sho are considered by LEAs to require a level of provision which they are unable to meet...the Unit successfully addresses the need to provide a broad and balanced curriculum, but within a framework of prioritising the development of speech and language ability."
-- Professor Geoff Lindsay *

"The children...attending the Unit are an exceptional population who require a high level of intensive support from both teachers and speech and language therapists if they are to make optimal progress."
-- Professor Geoff Lindsay *

The teaching (and therapy) was characterised by very positive attributes across the range of aspects of teaching, including good planning, careful task analysis and attention both to motivation and to monitoring of the child's performance to minimise errors and optimise correct learning...Expectations of the children were high, but realistic and related to the level at which the child was operating..."
-- Professor Geoff Lindsay *

"It is apparent that the children generally make very good progress while at the Unit."
-- Professor Geoff Lindsay *

"The children's behaviour is characterised by pleasant, friendly and positive interactions...Although the children have major difficulties in communication, and some engage in relatively limited collaborative play,there were still many examples of the latter, conducted in a friendly and positive fashion. A sense of security and happiness characterises the children's demeanour, whether in class, individual work, playtime, or meeting a visitor such as myself... In some cases children had previously exhibited behavioural problems related to frustration. As the children had settled into the Unit and learned to succeed such behavioural difficulties subsided."
-- Professor Geoff Lindsay *

* Professor Geoff Lindsay
Director, Special Needs Research
Institute of Education
University of Warwick

"When Adam came here, he was a very miserable child: he was frustrated, threw tantrums: we couldn't communicate with him and he couldn't communicate with us.

In the last two years that he has been here that has totally reversed and he is a much, much happier child."
--Adam's father

"On joining the Unit, our child was able to make two sounds: 'mmmmmm' and 'b'. Some fourteen months later he has close to a full range of sounds and can now demonstrate his extraordinary vocabulary and comprehension. We knew he understood what was going on around him, but only now, due to the concentrated efforts of all the staff at the school can he prove that to everyone else. Quite simply his life (and ours) has been transformed."
--Parents

"The Nuffield Unit provided my child with a high level of specialist teaching and speech and language therapy within a nurturing environment that she so desperately needed. During her time there I saw her confidence grow as her skills improved and I cannot speak highly enough of the Unit."
--Parents