The Talking Matters School Readiness Program is an internally developed group program designed by Talking Matters clinical staff, including Speech Pathologists and Occupational Therapists, to address developmental skills required for successful participation in school. The program has been developed specifically for the communities we support and is informed by established developmental frameworks, clinical expertise, and evidence-based early childhood intervention principles.

The program is delivered through a structured sequence of speech pathology and occupational therapy sessions that progressively target vocabulary development, questioning skills, phonological awareness, instruction following, motor coordination, and early pre-writing skills. This structured progression enables children to build and consolidate foundational capabilities required for participation in early learning environments.

Expected outcomes of this program:

• Improved fine and gross motor skills.
• Improved social interaction skills.
• Improved language and communication skills.
• Improved engagement with learning.

The School Readiness Program is delivered by qualified Speech Pathologists and/or Occupational Therapists. The School Readiness Program is delivered through a structured sequence of sessions designed to progressively develop school readiness skills.

The program may be delivered over a minimum of 8 sessions and up to 16 sessions depending on the needs of participating children and the capacity of the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) service.

Sessions may be delivered by a single discipline (Speech Pathologist or Occupational Therapist) or through a multidisciplinary approach involving both Speech Pathology and Occupational Therapy.

When delivered collaboratively, the combined program allows children to develop and consolidate skills across communication, early literacy, motor development, and classroom participation.

Session length can range from 60 to 90 minutes per visit and may be delivered weekly or fortnightly depending on the scheduling capacity of the ECEC service.

Weekly sessions are recommended when the program is delivered by a single discipline.

Fortnightly sessions are recommended when both Speech Pathology and Occupational Therapy are involved, allowing disciplines to alternate sessions and reinforce learning across developmental domains.

All program activities (face to face time, resources and reporting) are charged at $205.53 per hour, per clinician, per visit. Travel time is charged at a rate of $199.54 per hour, or part thereof. Vehicle travel is charged at $0.99 per kilometre travelled. Travel time and distance is calculated from the closest Talking Matters clinic location to the participating ECEC service and applies to each clinician travelling to deliver the program for each session. All costs listed are GST exclusive.