Seven schools in the Acle area will be celebrating the completion of a three year project to improve the language skills of their pupils.

The school cluster is the first in the country to gain Elklan Communication Friendly Status.

Two teachers and two teaching assistants from each primary school received specialised training in techniques to support the development of children’s language and communication skills.

The teachers then trained the rest of the staff in their schools.

The project was made possible by funding from Norfolk County Council’s High Needs SEN development funding.

A celebration event is being held at Acle St Edmund Church of England Primary School on Wednesday, May 24. Representatives from the inclusion team at Norfolk County Council will be there to see the teachers and teachers receive their certificates from the speech and language trainers, Elklan.

Sarah Gentle, SEN Cluster coordinator, said she was extremely proud to be the first cluster to gain the status.