We are delighted to announce that The Elizabeth Foundation has been accredited by the leading children’s communication charity I CAN as an Early Talk Specialist Level Service – their highest level of accreditation.

The Early Talk programme

Early Talk is I CAN’s highly successful communication and language programme, aimed at the early years workforce in partnership with parents.

Receiving Early Talk accreditation at Specialist Level is an endorsement of a service’s ability to meet the standards set for good practice in this highly skilled area of work. These services will include speech and language therapists, a teacher and a support assistant working collaboratively to provide integrated therapy and education of the children in their care.

The Elizabeth Foundation – a Specialist Level Service

The Elizabeth Foundation received its Early Talk Specialist Accreditation Following a comprehensive assessment process, culminating in an accreditation visit by assessors from I CAN in June 2021.

We are one of only four programmes in the whole of the UK with I CAN Early Talk Specialist Accreditation. We achieved all ten standards outlined for good practice. Comments from the assessors included the following highlights as strengths of our programme:

• A robust assessment process to establish baselines and monitor progress.
• Partnerships working with professionals outside the organisation are strong.
• All children are valued and seen as individuals.
• The support to parents and families is outstanding.
• This is a highly skilled team who work collaboratively.
• Staff competently use a variety of strategies and techniques to support communication.
• There is a strong focus on assessment and tracking progress, which is well-structured.
• Families are central to the work and drive the activities and types of support offered.  This is an area of considerable strength.
• Families clearly value the service and support they receive.
• There is a trans-disciplinary style of working seen through cross working and cross skill-sharing.
• The service is efficiently and effectively run.

Continuously enhancing our services

We aim to keep providing the best possible services for preschool deaf children and their families. Achieving formal recognition of the quality of our services through external validation such as I CAN Early Talk Specialist Accreditation is just one way we assess our success.