DID you hear the one about the pupils from Burley Oaks Primary School who took part in a national joke competition to celebrate the fun and importance of communication?

The pupils took part in Voice Box, a joint national initiative by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) and The Communication Trust, to demonstrate the importance of good communication skills.

Burley Oaks head teacher Mrs Claire Lee said: “Supporting children with communication needs allows them to engage fully at school and with friends, and play an active role in society. Voice Box has provided a fun way to highlight the importance of good communication. We have had a funny few weeks whilst the children prepared for the competition!”

Over 200 pupils took part in telling their best jokes in front of their peers. Each class then selected a winner for the whole school final which was judged by Steph Burgess, a Speech and Language Therapist, the Reverend Tim Perkins, Mrs Lee and three school council members. Each class winner received a Roald Dahl joke book and the overall school winner, Lucas from Year 1, received a joke kit, a book and a Voice Box badge. The winning joke was: What’s a cow’s favourite drink? A smoooooothie. The joke has been sent to the RCSLT for a chance to win a trip to the House of Commons.

This was the first project organised by the 2016/2017 School Council and they organised everything from sending letter, ordering prizes, writing certificates and ensuring the event ran smoothly. Nany (Year 3) and Holly (Year 6) led the competition in front of over 450 children and staff.

According to the RCSLT, all children need help to develop their skills to communicate from infancy and many children and young people benefit from extra help to improve their skills. Seven per cent of children aged around five years have specific speech and language impairment and a further 1.8 per cent have speech, language and communication needs link to other conditions, such as a learning disability, cerebral palsy and autism spectrum disorders.

RCSLT CEO Kamini Gadhok MBE said: “In every classroom, there are children who need expert help with speaking and understanding. By helping the children to resolve their speech, language and communication difficulties, children become more receptive to learning, are better able to handle social situations and can develop emotional maturity and better behaviour. Undetected or untreated speech, language and communication problems can lead to low levels of literacy, poor educational attainment and, in turn, difficulties finding employment.”