New data shows 13% increase in number of children in Milton Keynes needing speech therapy support

New findings from a BBC report has uncovered that the number of children needing speech therapy support has increased in Milton Keynes.

In the city 12.86% more children of Year One school age have needed assistance, versus previous totals.

The BBC has crunched numbers from 2015 up until the end of the last school year.

In the past school year, 237 youngsters in the selected age range needed support in MK, a leap from 206 the prior year.

Milton Keynes has seen a greater rise than the national average, where it has risen by 10% overall.

BBC analysis shows the 10% jump is three times that of recent increases.

The increase is partly down to the effect of lockdown restrictions according to experts.

With the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists saying the profession was struggling to cope with the demand.

Meanwhile, the government said it was putting £180m into early years development.

Analysis by the BBC's Shared Data Unit found the number of five and six-year-olds needing help with language increased more than most other areas of special educational needs.

A total of 42,341 children required extra support in 2021-22, up from 38,560 in 2020/21.

The charity Speech and Language UK said this could have been down to the lack of stimulus available to young children during the pandemic.

However the increases in children needing speech and language support in Year 1 varied greatly across the country with some authorities seeing increases of over 35%.

Speech and Language UK said around 7.6% of children will face some kind of challenge with their speech and language, and more needs to be done to support them. However, it also said it thinks more children have been affected by Covid-19 and lockdown restrictions.

Chief executive Jane Harris said: ”We know that during Covid children did not have the opportunities to talk to other children. And they learn a lot from learning from talking to other children. They also didn’t have the opportunities for new experiences. So if you think about how children learn to speak and learn words, they learn by doing new things.”