Speaking out for oral skills

By Gila Falkus, speech and language therapist, team leader/ professional manager (Hammersmith & Fulham PCT) Early years workers have a vital role in helping children to develop their communication skills. Learning to communicate is the most important aspect of pre-school development. It underlies all other learning, is essential for children's emotional health and encompasses the ability to understand as well as to talk, to use and respond to non-verbal communication, and to adjust to different people and situations according to social conventions.