Hello, the national year of communication and Pearson Assessment
One year on…
Last year we were fortunate to be key sponsors of the Hello, national year of communication campaign; a campaign to increase understanding of how important it is for children and young people to develop good communication skills. Run by The Communication Trust, a coalition of over 35 leading voluntary sector organisations, Hello aimed to make communication for all children and young people a priority in homes and schools across the country so they can live life to the full.
Some of the highlights of the year included:
One in a Million went live
Narrated by Ben Macleod, a 21 year old actor who developed severe communication needs at a young age, One in a Million explains how learning to communicate is one of the most important things a child will ever do and how children can struggle immensely unless they are supported by adults to develop strong talking and listening skills. The film highlights what both parents and professionals, such as teachers and health workers www.youtube.com/The2011Hello|
70,000 copies of Universally Speaking and free resources
Universally Speaking: the ages and stages of children’s communication development, are three free resources written by The Communication Trust and sponsored by Pearson Assessment. Aimed at practitioners working with children in early years (0-5), primary school (5-11) and secondary school (11-18) settings, each resource gives practitioners a checklist of milestone achievements that young people should be reaching and offers top tips and ideas for what to do next, so that every child has that opportunity to communicate.
Find out more and download your copy >|
The Shine a Light Awards
The Shine a Light awards, hosted by radio and TV presenter Vanessa Feltz at Pearson's headquarters in London, were the flagship event of the Hello campaign. Devised to celebrate good practice and achievement by the children’s workforce in developing the communication skills of the children they work with, applications came in from a range of settings, professionals and individuals.
Find out about the award winners >|
Plus…
We’ve also been busy this year, supporting key speech and language exhibitions, spreading the Hello word via @PsychCorpUK| on twitter, supporting local resources, and some of us even took on the Three Peaks Challenge to raise money for I CAN!
But it’s not goodbye
Whilst the national year has come to an end, Pearson Assessment’s work in this area is set to continue. We were delighted to see that Universally Speaking was referenced in a report by the Expert Panel for the National Curriculum review, and we will be working closely with The Communication Trust to continue to support the outcomes to Jean Gross’ Two Years On report and the outstanding practice we’ve already seen.
Related Links:
Hello campaign summary|
Hello FAQs|
Hello website|
Hello on Facebook|
Pearson Assessment on Facebook|
Press Releases:
Launch of Year of Communication - Oct 2010| (pdf)
Pearson Assessment joins Chatterbox Challenge - March 2011| (pdf)
It's Time to Shine - the Hello 2011 Campaign Awards now open for entries - May 2011| (pdf)
Pearson Assessment takes on The Three Peaks Challenge for charity - Aug 2011| (pdf)
Pearson Assessment reaches the top in Three Peaks Challenge to raise money for Hello, the national year of communication - Oct 2011|
Universally Speaking supports better outcomes for children and young people with communication needs - Oct 2011| (pdf)
Hello Shines a Light on the communication champions - Nov 2011| (pdf)