Editor's View - big year for communication

It's all talk in this week's issue of Nursery World, as we focus on speech, language and communication to celebrate the start of the national year Hello!

Communication Champion Jean Gross is interviewed about the campaign  and offers plenty of ideas and advice for practitioners about getting involved with the year's activities and finding useful resources.

Early Education president Helen Moylett begins her new series on good practice in supporting young children's communication skills with a look at the importance of this area of development . Future articles will draw on excellent practice from around the country.

Every Child A Talker has been one of the most appreciated early years programmes of recent years, with participants really enthusiastic about its effects. Funding runs out at the end of March, however, and so it is very important that the good work is enshrined in nursery practice and that the Hello! campaign keeps the spotlight on children's needs.

One positive move is that a module on supporting speech, language and communication has been made mandatory in the new Level 3 Diploma for the Children and Young People's Workforce. Our new series on the Diploma starts with an in-depth look at this module.

Nursery World Show 2011

We're very excited about our annual event, to be held on 11-12 February at London's Business Design Centre, and you can read all about it in our show preview on pages 22-25. With the squeeze on money available for training, you can't afford to miss this opportunity to attend seminars from leading experts for just £15 a session or £65 for a morning business seminar.