A Unique Child - Narrative intervention - What's the story?

'An inability to retell a story in a kindergarten child must serve as an alarm signal for all who are concerned with that child's progress through school. This alarm signal is all the more critical when the failure is accompanied by other measures suggesting delays in syntax, low levels of vocabulary development or difficulties in language learning in general.'

Rita C Naremore, 'Language Intervention With School-Aged Children: Conversation, Narrative and Text'

Nursery children in Preston are learning journalistic techniques as part of a speech and language programme to help them to develop essential vocabulary and listening skills.

Ribbleton Sure Start and Fishwick and St Matthew Sure Start are providing funding so that the Narrative Intervention programme can be run in 12 reception classes and one nursery across the two areas. Almost 300 children are being targeted by the scheme, which helps them to focus on the important elements that make up a story - who, where, when and what happens next.

The Narrative Intervention pack being used in Preston was developed by Judith Carey, speech and language therapist team leader for clinic services in Stockport. She says, 'It is based around our need to tell stories, not to get the next JK Rowling, but to develop the skills needed to interact with other people. It is often taken for granted that children have these skills, but for many they have to be taught.

'These are essential skills socially, forming the basis of children talking to each other in the playground. The use of story is also important across the curriculum when children go to school. Even in science children need to say what has happened during an experiment.'

The many stages involved in telling a story include:

- Vocabulary
- Grammar
- Memory
- Listener knowledge
- Social skills
- Understanding
- Sequencing
- Attention
- Cause-effect relationships
- World experience.

The Narrative Intervention programme is split into 18 sessions which contain activities and stories based on who, where, when and what happens next. Fun activities include sound lotto, pass the bag (like pass the parcel), sorting games, time sequences and story dice.

Each session, which can last from ten minutes to an hour, depending on the children's age and interest, starts with the general rules of good looking, good listening and good sitting and ends with a story to pull together the whole narrative approach. Suggested themes include mini beasts, story characters, farm animals and people who help us.

'It sounds very prescriptive, but the idea is that practitioners look at the pack and develop it for their own needs and what interests the individual children,' explains Ms Carey.

Back to basics

Initially the programme was developed to target children with speech and language delay, but it has been found to be useful for all children, so the programme is fully inclusive. Even those with good language skills have been found to benefit.

Speech and language therapist Cath Bumbac is training nine nursery nurses in Preston, meeting one morning a week, to follow the programme.

She says, 'This technique tries to get back to basics. I'm hoping data from trials will show that children with improved oral skills will go on to have improved written skills. It helps if the child can first structure their thoughts logically and this will go on to have long-term positive effects for the child. In order to learn, a child also has to listen to the information presented to them.'

The Preston scheme has been running since January and will continue until December, with the hope of extending it if more funding can be secured. Assessment results have not been analysed yet but Ms Bumbac says they look 'very promising'. She adds, 'The staff feel it is beneficial and the children enjoy it - they like the small group work and get a lot of attention.' In other areas there has been a drop in speech and language referrals in nurseries that use the programme.

CASE STUDY: Little Achievers @ Ribbleton Children's Centre, Preston

Nursery nurse Corrissa Luvate is involved in the Narrative Intervention programme. She works with small groups of children four mornings a week and then attends a morning's training and reflection.

'The speech and language training has been quite difficult and intensive, but it is very rewarding and has expanded my skills,' says Ms Luvate.

'The narrative intervention programme is very flexible and can be easily adapted to the needs of the children. It also fits readily into the nursery curriculum. The sessions last for a maximum of 30 minutes with a maximum of four children at a time. All the children take part, not just those with speech and language problems.

'I work through programmes from the narrative pack, which are presented in a fun format. We started off with the concept of "who" and then worked through "where", "when" and "what happens next". Sessions include topics such as farm animals when we listened to sound tapes, looked at objects and different pictures of where the animals live. Each session ends with a story. We also use the techniques in the nursery. If we go on a walk we ask who the children have seen, where they have been and what they did.

'I can now see the changes in the children's everyday play. Many of them have gained confidence and talk a lot more. I have noticed that they use words more imaginatively, especially when they are engaged in role play.'

FURTHER INFORMATION

Nursery Narrative Pack (Black Sheep Press, £60, www.blacksheeppress.co.uk, 01535 631346)