A multi-million-pound trial identifying children under 11 with speech and language needs has been extended 鈥� albeit with less funding – as government says the scheme 鈥減aves the way to a reformed SEND system鈥�. Specialist teams have been deployed in primary and early years settings through the early language support for every child (ELSEC) pilot in a bid to spot youngsters with developmental delays sooner. Catherine McKinnell Having reached over 20,000 pupils, the programme 鈥� which was originally due to end this year 鈥� has been extended 12 more months. Schools minister Catherine McKinnell said: 鈥淭his type of approach is exactly what we want to see in a reformed SEND system that delivers the support children need at the earliest stage and restores parents鈥� trust in a system which has let them down for too long.鈥� ELSEC was launched by the Department for Education and NHS England in September 2023 across nine regions as part of a two-year trial. Through this, speech and language therapy assistants have worked with schools and early years settings to assist pupils between the age of 2 and 11. They also teach staff 鈥渢o use characters and games to boost engagement and improve expression in ways that children can understand鈥�. Funding reduced DfE said the programme has 鈥渁lready supported over 200 early years and primary school settings, trained over 3,000 setting staff and provided support to just over 20,000 pupils鈥�. Ministers believe ELSEC 鈥減aves the way for a reformed SEND system鈥�. It 鈥渇orms one part of the government鈥檚 work testing SEND reforms鈥�, which focus on 鈥渆arly intervention and support in mainstream schools鈥�. The DfE and NHS each paid 拢2.2 million a year to finance the pilot. A further 拢3.4 million, with 拢2.2 million coming from the department, is being provided to extend the scheme 12 months through to the end of 2025-26. DfE said children in settings that are already part of the programme will continue to be supported. Despite the funding reduction, officials hope it will be expanded to more schools, helping an additional 20,000 youngsters, as it is expected to be cheaper to continue to run than to launch. This comes after Schools Week revealed that officials are considering a shake-up of the education, health and care plan system that would likely lead to a narrowing or new structure of support as part of major SEND reforms. Government adviser Dame Christine Lenehan added discussions were ongoing about whether EHCPs should only apply to special school pupils.