Elklan's CFS Secondary course facilitates staff who have completed Elklan’s Speech and Language Support for 11-16s course to cascade essential knowledge and practical support strategies they have learnt to staff in the SEN and English departments. On completing CFS, the departments receive an accredited award and will become an environment which supports the communication and language development of the pupils. There is an option to involve the whole school at the outset or through the renewal process.

Elklan Communication Friendly Setting (CFS) accreditation is awarded to settings that have trained and support all their staff in communication and language development. They will also have shown evidence of embedding this knowledge in targeted interventions and through the implementation of a Communication Policy.

1

Speech & Language Support for 11-16s

1x SENCO, 1x Teacher and 2x TAs from the English and SEN departments complete SLS 11-16s. TAs achieve a Level 3 accreditation.

SENCO and 1x TA become Lead Communication Practitioners (LCPs).

2

Communication Counts

LCPs cascade training to all staff in English and SEN departments, support the team and achieve Level 4 accreditation. Other school staff can join the cascade if they want to.

3

Audit & Accreditation

CFS status is awarded which is accredited by Elklan and OCN London.

Communication Counts is a course which has been written by Elklan and is delivered by the Lead Communication Practitioners to the staff in the SEN and English departments (or whole school). The course is made up of the key information and strategies from the 10-week Speech and Language Support for 11-16s course delivered in 5x one-hour bitesize sessions. Each session has been tailored to be simple to deliver for the LCPs and easy to implement by the staff. Elklan provides all of the resources for the cascade of Communication Counts and the LCPs are supported by an experienced Elklan Tutor throughout this process.

After each Communication Counts session, the staff complete a brief questionnaire on how effective the cascaded methods and strategies have been when used with the pupils that they work with. This helps to embed the knowledge that is being shared by placing emphasis on deploying Elklan methods into the staff's interactions with pupils. The data from the questionnaires is summarised in concise reports giving a measure of the impact of the CFS programme on your school.

Once the Communication Counts course has been delivered, and the Challenge Questionnaires completed the Final Audit will take place to assess the changes that have taken place in your school. Upon successful completion of the Audit the LCPs will receive Level 4 qualifications and the SEN and English departments (or whole school) receive accredited 'Communication Friendly' status. CFS status lasts for 3 years before it then needs to be renewed.

CFS Secondary: £2,230 plus VAT

If you wish to undertake Elklan's CFS programme, please contact us.

If you have any questions please book onto a Q&A Webinar

Settings who have completed level 3 training

Settings which have completed required Level 3 training and are ready to commence their CFS journey can do so by asking their Lead Communication Practitioner(s) (LCPs) to select one of the available level 4 Communication Friendly Schools - Secondary course options below. Please note that course places will not be confirmed until approved by a member of Elklan staff. Elklan may require confirmation of eligibility before proceeding.

Accredited Online Training

Please note these courses are only for those settings who do not already have their own Elklan tutor. If you have an Elklan tutor already, please contact them directly to discuss your next steps.

We'd welcome an opportunity to discuss how your setting can become Communication Friendly.

Elklan hosts regular Q&A webinars for schools and settings interested in gaining Communication Friendly status. Click on one of the dates below to book your free place.

If your setting has already achieved CFS status and you would like more information about the renewal process, please visit the CFS Renewal section (below).

Elklan has a brand new offering for CFS schools, CFS Gold. CFS Gold membership enables schools to continue their Elklan journey in developing support for pupil’s language and communication. For the 3 years after gaining CFS status until renewal, Elklan’s new CFS Gold membership provides CPD for your school's LCPs and Level 3 practitioners in the form of Mentor Meetings and Workshops. These sessions will take place in local networks to strengthen local links and the sharing of good practice.

Gold Membership Cost: £200 plus VAT per year including the cost of renewal

Gold Membership Cost for small EY and Primary settings: £150 plus VAT per year

For more information: CFS Gold membership

Renewal Cost: £250 plus VAT *

Renewal with CFS Gold membership: Free **

* Applies where settings have retained all original LCPs.

** Settings who have had a CFS Gold membership for 3 years will receive their renewal for free. If Gold membership is held for less than 3 years following CFS completion the renewal will cost £150 plus VAT.

If you have any questions, please contact us.

Evaluation Reports

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