School asked me to take my 5yo old for a developmental check

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My reception age 5yo has been seen by the school speech and language therapist due because his speech is unclear. The SaLT asked me to get him referred for a general developmental check via our GP. He was very breezy about it and made this sound like a standard thing he would ask of any parent, but I’m a bit concerned he thinks something is wrong.

I don’t know what a developmental check would look like for a 5yo and what they might be looking for. Can anyone shed any light?

Have they said WHY there needs to be a general developmental check? Tbh expressive language issues are common and often isolated so if they did want more checks they'd need to be more specific about what exactly they're worried about for a referral to even be accepted. Do you or school have any other concerns?

No, that’s the thing, they’ve not said anything to indicate why. They’re just expecting me to go to the GP and say “the SaLT asked us to get a referral for a developmental check”.

There’s nothing that really stands out for me in terms of concerns - he’s probably a bit behind average in a few areas (some motor skills like zipping or buttoning a coat), ahead in others (understands abstract concepts etc).

It won't harm to speak to your GP but tbh I think a GP would find it hard to refer something so vague to already overstretched specialist services unless something came to light in their examination. A first step might be to ask for a good chat with her teacher and see what they really make of her and also maybe ask for a referral to the school nurse who can spend more time looking into her needs and abilities. Nothing you're saying sounds hugely concerning x