Child Development
Nursery World and National Literacy Trust launch language development survey
How do you support language development? Take part in our survey and you could win free membership of the National Literacy Trust's Early Years Network.
To celebrate Hello, the national year of communication, Nursery World has teamed up with the National Literacy Trust to carry out research into the sector’s support for children’s language and literacy development. We hope as many practitioners as possible will take part and help to create a picture of what is going on across the country.
'Following Dame Clare Tickell’s review of the Early Years Foundation Stage, communication and language should be at the forefront of early years professionals’ thinking,' said Amanda Halden from the National Literacy Trust’s newly launched Early Years Network. 'Supporting early communication is essential for ensuring children are confident and ready to move on to the next stage. Language skills are the foundation for learning to read and write once children start school. We want to know how settings are promoting communication, language and literacy; what problems they are facing; and the support they need to do the best for their children and families.'
The National Literacy Trust provides a range of support for communication and language in the early years. Its Early Years Network is aimed at helping professionals to raise the profile of language and to increase the involvement of families in children’s learning. It provides exclusive resources including a whole setting audit and profiling tools which can be used to identify and meet individual children’s learning needs.
The National Literacy Trust’s Talk To Your Baby resources and annual conference provide information and practical ideas to help parents develop their baby’s communication from birth. The charity also works with local areas to ensure more co-ordinated support for families across services.
Ms Halden said, 'The EYFS review emphasises the importance of parents being central to children’s learning, something the National Literacy Trust strongly endorses. We want to know more about how settings are working with families to support language and literacy in the home. An increasing number of young children have difficulties in communication and language, so we are very interested in hearing about involvement in the Every Child a Talker project which ended recently. We would like to know what difference it has made and the type of support required to ensure its impact continues.'
Spend ten minutes completing the survey by 19 May and you could win a free membership to the Early Years Network. The research findings will be revealed in a feature in Nursery World.
- Take part now at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NWSurvey
