Explore the Colourful Semantics approach
Use this page to understand the Colourful Semantics approach, then choose the right ITS pathway for training, classroom resources, baseline assessment or whole-school language and literacy support.
Training
Practical Colourful Semantics training for schools, MATs, teachers, teaching assistants and therapists.
View 2026 training datesPaid Resource Bank
Explore ready-to-use Colourful Semantics resources, including writing, sentence building, baseline assessment and curriculum support materials.
View Resource BankBaseline Assessment
Establish a starting point, identify areas for support and monitor progress.
Explore the AssessmentConnect & Write Framework™
A whole-school language and literacy framework powered by Colourful Semantics, designed to strengthen communication, sentence structure and writing outcomes across your setting.
Explore Connect & WriteBook Colourful Semantics training for 14 & 15 October 2026
Give your team practical, evidence-informed strategies they can use straight away to support communication, language and writing.
The next live online course runs over two 3-hour sessions and is suitable for UK and international teachers, teaching assistants, SENCos, inclusion leads and Speech and Language Therapists.
Do you need a Colourful Semantics trained therapist in your school?
ITS can provide a therapist trained in Colourful Semantics to help your school set up whole-class approaches, small group work and individual Colourful Semantics support.
We also offer remote support sessions to help schools set up programmes, create resources and put targets and measurable goals into practice. You can find out more about remote SLT support or email us on info@integratedtreatments.co.uk to discuss flexible Colourful Semantics support or wider Speech and Language Therapy input.
We can also deliver Colourful Semantics training for schools and MATs and provide a library of Colourful Semantics resources to support classroom and intervention work.
Like our new Facebook resources page to get all the latest themed resources to use with your classes or therapy groups.
What is the Colourful Semantics approach?
The Colourful Semantics approach was created by Alison Bryan. It helps children develop sentence structure and grammar by focusing on the meaning of words and the role each word plays within a sentence.
Colourful Semantics supports children to build and organise sentences by grouping words into thematic roles and linking each role with a consistent colour cue.
The approach has four key colour-coded stages. There are further stages for adverbs, adjectives, conjunctions and negatives.
This is an example of a child working at level 4. The Colourful Semantics approach helps children organise sentences in stages while developing language, vocabulary and grammatical structure. It can support children who are beginning to develop language and children who are confident talkers but need help organising the grammatical content of their sentences.
Who can use the Colourful Semantics approach?
The approach can be used with children with a range of Speech, Language and Communication Needs, including:
- Developmental Language Disorder or specific language impairment
- Developmental Delay or Disorder
- Autistic Spectrum Condition
- Down Syndrome
- Literacy difficulties
Why use Colourful Semantics?
Benefits of using this approach can include:
- Encouraging wider vocabulary
- Making sentences longer
- Helping children answer questions or generate responses to questions
- Developing use of nouns, verbs, prepositions and adjectives
- Improving storytelling skills
- Can be transferred to written sentences and written language comprehension
- Can be carried out individually or in small groups
Colourful Semantics resources and next steps
If you are already using Colourful Semantics, or you want practical tools to help staff get started, explore our paid Colourful Semantics resource bank.
The resource bank includes ready-to-use materials to support sentence building, writing, baseline assessment, curriculum themes and intervention planning across school and therapy settings.
These resources are designed by the ITS Speech and Language Therapy team to help schools and professionals move from understanding the approach to using it confidently in practice.
View the Colourful Semantics resource bank
Colour strip © Copyright of Integrated Treatment Services
Book Image © Copyright of Stass Publications
