The Talkabout programme is a method for teachers to teach and measure social communication skills, suitable for all ages of children and into adulthood; it was developed by the Speech and Language Therapist Alex Kelly.

The programme involves: 

• Pre-assessment that outlines a detailed and individualised overview of each pupil’s social skills difficulties.
• Foundation skills (self-awareness, non-verbal skills)
• Complex skills (verbal skills, friendship skills and  assertiveness).                                                                                

Activities in the programmes include listening, group discussion and role-playing. Visual resources are used to depict different scenarios; they are clear, attractive and help to facilitate the understanding, processing and retaining of the information discussed.  

The Talkabout series of books cover a wide range of needs and topics, such as:

• Developing Self-Awareness and Self-Esteem
• Developing Social Skills
• Developing Friendship Skills
• Building Self-Esteem and Relationship Skills
• Developing Social and Emotional Communication Skills 
• Sex and Relationships
• Transitions: From Education to Employment
• Talkabout for Adults

In October 2022 Alex Kelly came to Woodlands Meed and gave instruction to the whole staff team on the Talkabout approach. It is now used in every class across the school and college sites.