The Balanced System® transforms access to speech and language support

Children and families across Devon and Torbay are now seeing significant improvements in access to speech, language and communication support for under-fives, following Children and Family Health Devon’s (CFHD) introduction of the Balanced System®.

Just nine months ago, families of children under five faced waiting times of more than two years for a speech, language and communication assessment with CFHD. Today, drop-in assessment sessions for under-fives are well under way, providing faster, easier access to support through a network of easy-access drop-ins across Devon and Torbay.

As a result of this new approach, it is projected that by April 2026 there will be no waiting list for under-fives needing an assessment. Crucially, these drop-in sessions are open access, meaning families are able to attend without needing a prior appointment or referral

Sharon Martin, Professional and Clinical Lead for Children’s Speech and Language Therapy, Children and Family Health Devon, said: “The Balanced System® has fundamentally changed how we support children and families. Moving to open-access drop-ins has removed barriers, reduced waiting times, and allowed us to focus on early intervention. We are already seeing the positive impact this is having for families across Devon and Torbay.”

Inclusive system wide support

CFHD, using the Balanced System framework, ensures all children, young people and families receive the right help at the right time in the right place including:

• Advice, guidance and signposting
• Targeted support for emerging needs
• Further, direct therapy input, with waits currently around four weeks

Children might access all of these at the same time and those identified through accessible drop-in sessions as benefitting from direct therapy input can move straight through for this and possible access targeted support at the same time.

This whole-system collaborative approach enables earlier intervention, reduces delays, and ensures specialist support and resources are used when and where they are needed most.

Victoria Riley, from Better Communication CIC, said: “CFHD’s transformation is about having the child, young person and family at the heart of all support, at a place and time that is right for them.  Offering support across the Balanced System’s Five Strands, including making services easier to access and engage with, CFHD ensures that children get the right help at the right time – without families having to wait years for answers.”

Supporting children aged five and older

Alongside improvements for under fives,  Link Therapists  are being allocated across Devon and Torbay schools. This model supports collaborative working between schools and speech and language therapists, helping staff to build skills and confidence in supporting children’s communication needs. While waits for children older than five currently remain, this work is in its early stages and continues to develop over the coming months. A menu of support is available for families, with options providing advice, reassurance and early support while longer-term individualised support continues to be strengthened.

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