It’s been a whole year since the ‘Hello’ Campaign was launched by The Communication Trust in conjunction with a number of different charities and organisations. Its aim is "to make children’s communication development a priority in homes and schools throughout the UK".
Here is a month-by-month breakdown of what the Hello campaign has been up to over the last twelve months –
- January – ‘New year, new recruits’: how the Hello campaign could benefit local and national services
- February – ‘Children rhyme and shine’: I CAN’S Chatterbox Challenge had children singing a record-breaking version of Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes!
- March – ‘More talk please, we’re British’: National Literacy Trust’s Talk To Your Baby campaign helped raise awareness of parents talking more to their babies.
- April – ‘More listening and understanding too please!’: the building blocks of communication; speech sounds, interaction and talking, understanding, play and attention & listening.
- May – ‘Watch out, there’s a lion about’: Raa Raa the Noisy Lion joins CBeebies!
- June – ‘Imagine being one in a million’: ‘One In A Million’ film highlighted speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) in children.
- July – ‘Skills for work, Skills for life’: BT’s Talk Gym resource and research report, ‘Culture, Communication and Change’ raised awareness of communication skills for adolescents.
- August – ‘Talk & go’: Summer Talk, raised awareness about how to support children’s communication skills over the summer holidays
- September – ‘Put down the pens’: No Pens Wednesday encouraged children to focus on speaking and listening.
- October – ‘It’s not just about words’: International Alternative and Augmentative Communication Month – Other Ways of Speaking raised awareness of alternative means of communication.
- November – Shine a Light 2011 Hello campaign awards and Celebrating Communication toolkit!
Sarah Bennington, December 2011
Written on behalf of Integrated Treatment Services. I.T.S is a private Speech and Language Therapy service based in Leicestershire and the East Midlands. It specialises in providing highly-skilled Speech and Language Therapists, but also associates with other therapeutic professionals, including Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Psychologists and Creative Expressive Therapists.
