As literacy rises to the top of the national agenda — with new reading tests for Year 8 and renewed scrutiny of early secondary outcomes — one question keeps resurfacing:
Are we doing enough to support the spoken-language foundations that literacy depends on?
Across the UK, schools are rightly exploring tools like Secondary Language Link to identify language needs earlier and deliver practical support. But while assessment and targeted interventions are essential… there’s a bigger conversation emerging around the spaces where language development takes place.
Because language doesn’t grow in isolation, it grows in environments designed for clarity, confidence, and communication.
The Hidden Language Gap in Secondary Schools
Research is increasingly clear:
strong reading relies on strong spoken language.
Yet by the time pupils reach Key Stage 3, many language and communication needs (LCN/SLCN) remain completely unidentified. Students may appear disengaged, inconsistent, or simply “quiet,” when the underlying challenge is that they’re struggling to process spoken information or express their ideas clearly.
Tools like Secondary Language Link offer schools a way forward, providing:
· Rapid, standardised screening for Years 7–9
· Therapist-designed interventions that pupils actually enjoy
· Support for multilingual learners
· Effective tracking and measurable outcomes
· Smooth integration with oracy, literacy and SEND strategies
But identifying a need is only step one.
Where Environments Come In: Are Our Spaces Supporting Communication?
The more we learn about language development, the more one truth stands out:
Environment shapes understanding.
Students with language or communication needs often struggle more in settings with:
· High background noise
· Low speech clarity
· Limited visual anchors
· Poor visibility
· Overwhelming or cluttered teaching spaces
This raises a powerful question for school leaders:
**If we expect students to communicate confidently…
are we giving them spaces where communication feels possible?**
Creating Spaces Where Language Can Thrive
Thoughtfully designed presentation, teaching, and breakout spaces can make a surprisingly big difference to students with SLCN.
Features such as:
✔ Acoustic control
Reduces cognitive load and makes it easier for students to process spoken language — especially those with language difficulties, ADHD or multilingual learners.
✔ Clear visual communication
Writable surfaces, glassboards and wall-to-wall visual spaces help teachers break down concepts, scaffold vocabulary and provide concrete anchors for abstract ideas.
✔ Consistent, uncluttered design
Helps learners focus on instructions, vocabulary and discussions without competing distractions.
✔ Spaces that encourage interaction and oracy
Quiet corners, breakout areas, small-group zones — all support targeted language work and confidence-building conversations.
When your environment supports communication, every learner benefits — but students with language needs benefit most.
Why This Matters Now
The Education Secretary recently described reading as
“the passport to the rest of their lives.”
But for thousands of students, spoken language difficulties prevent them from even approaching the departure gate.
Schools adopting tools like Secondary Language Link are already seeing the impact of early identification and targeted support. But combining this with well-designed communication-friendly spaces takes inclusion even further.
It’s not just good SEND practice — it’s good learning design.
Questions Every School Should Be Asking
To strengthen language and literacy outcomes, it’s worth reflecting on:
· Do our spaces make it easy for students to hear, understand, and respond?
· Are we reducing barriers — or unintentionally creating them?
· Do teachers have the visual tools they need to break down complex ideas?
· Could simple upgrades to acoustics or writing surfaces improve daily communication?
· Are we designing environments that support the most vulnerable communicators, not just the most confident?
Sometimes, small changes create the biggest shifts in confidence, behaviour, and attainment.
A More Inclusive Future for Communication
Thousands of UK schools are already using Secondary Language Link to identify and support hidden language needs. Pairing that with purposeful learning environments creates a strong, whole-school approach to communication.
Because when students can understand clearly, express confidently, and participate fully…
everything else becomes possible.
