Learning & Development: Language Skills - Talk back

Children who are effective communicators are effective learners, so their language and communication skills must be well developed if they are to succeed in school and beyond.

Unfortunately, many young children in the UK are starting school with high levels of impoverished language, disadvantaged by limited vocabulary, immature grammar and the inability to express themselves clearly and confidently.

The concept of 'impoverished language' has been raised in several highly influential reports, notably I CAN's The Cost to the Nation of Children's Poor Communication, and the Bercow Review. The I CAN report asserts that up to 10 per cent of all children may have 'a long-term persistent communication difficulty', and 'upwards of 50 per cent of children on school entry have more transient difficulties'.

While the children with persistent needs will require ongoing support, those with transient needs are likely to catch up, as long as they have appropriate intervention before they start school.

Both reports recognise that children's development and learning in early years settings increases when parents and practitioners work well together.

The roots of 'impoverished language' are in the home. The National Evaluation of Sure Start explains, 'Children growing up in impoverished circumstances are generally exposed to language that differs both qualitatively and quantitatively from the experience of more fortunate children. A social class gradient in language skills is already emerging by the time a child is two years old, and the gap widens substantially by the time children reach statutory school age.'

To help address this divide, Every Child a Talker (ECaT) is being implemented in many towns and cities in England, involving children from birth to four years of age. A two-year centrally funded initiative, ECaT aims to promote improved practitioner knowledge and skills in supporting children's language and communication. There is particular emphasis on working closely with parents, and developing ways of working with children that will have a long-lasting impact.

Every adult involved

Luton is one of the 51 towns and cities in the first wave of EcaT. Twenty local pre-school settings were invited to take part, with the expectation that they would at some stage 'buddy up' with neighbouring schools and settings to promote good practice across the borough.

Each setting selected a member of staff to be Early Language Lead Practitioner (ELLP). This important role involves supporting colleagues to develop practice that will maximise language and communication for all children in their setting, as well as focusing on those with additional needs.

In Luton we call our project 'Every Child a Talker: Every Adult Involved', to emphasise that the way adults interact with children is crucial to improving their language and communication skills.

What makes the initiative so exciting is that it isn't a scheme 'in a folder' with prescribed training activities and set goals. With our support, settings are encouraged to develop their own ideas, based on the needs of their families, children and community.

Safia Khan, the ELLP at Chaul End Children's Centre, is says, 'ECaT has motivated all of us to take a fresh look at our practice. It came at absolutely the right time, as we had just taken part in training from Sue Thomas about Letters and Sounds. This scheme stresses the importance of developing children's listening and phonological awareness, as a foundation for speech, language, reading and spelling.'

Sameyah Khan, ELLP at Downside Pre-School, is equally enthusiastic. The pre-school made changes to their practice after Michael Jones modelled storytelling techniques, advised them on group activities and encouraged them to visit other settings.

'We now share stories with children in small groups, using as many props as possible to illustrate the story, and plan daily follow-up activities,' says Sameyah. 'Funding from ECaT has also helped us buy good-quality resources for storytime and other language activities.'

Chatterboxes

One of the big successes in Luton has been the introduction of 'Chatterboxes', an idea developed by Tracey Spence, Luton's advisory teacher for children with speech and language difficulties. A Chatterbox is a covered shoebox, made by practitioners for children to take home.

The box will contain objects and a book related to a theme. A bird watching box, for example, contains a pair of children's binoculars, a cuddly bird toy, a simple bird identification book and a recipe for 'bird cake'.

All the boxes look the same, so the children don't know what is inside until they get home and lift the lid. This approach creates a sense of anticipation and has generated enthusiastic responses from both parents and children.

One parent says, 'It's like opening a present - he can't wait to see what's inside when we get home!'

Children at Downside Pre-School particularly enjoy the 'birthday chatterbox'. When it is shared in a group of children in the setting, it always promotes a lot of spontaneous comment and discussion.

Downside's 'Chatterbox Loan Scheme' was launched at a special ECaT family afternoon, when practitioners showcased to parents some of the ways they are promoting children's speech, language and communication. Staff from the local school also took part, and a major discussion point throughout the afternoon was how parents, practitioners and teachers can work closely together.

Treasure baskets

ECaT is as much about developing babies' and toddlers' communication as it is about supporting older children's language. ELLPs are supporting colleagues and parents in settings, to promote early communication. Particularly popular is play with Treasure Baskets, where children are encouraged to explore everyday and exciting objects and natural materials, such as collections of shiny things, keys, corks, and pinecones.

Many parents who see how involved their children are when playing with everyday objects in the setting encourage this type of play at home. This has a positive impact on parent-child relationships, as well as communication.

Sharon Ferguson and Aleha Muktadir, the ELLPs at Denbigh Pre-School, have taken the lead in investing in equipment for a loan scheme to promote language development at home. They both feel there is now a stronger partnership with parents, saying, 'Parents and children are enjoying sharing the books and toys they choose to take home.' The child is familiar with the book or toy before they take it home and this familiarity, adds Sharon, 'helps both child and parent enjoy playing, sharing books and talking together'.

Mother tongue

A key aspect of EcaT in Luton is to support families where a language other than English is spoken at home. We encourage parents to help their children become fluent in their mother tongue at home. This is based on the evidence that children who have a strong grounding in their first language can go on to learn English well, and may achieve better at school than those children who have a weaker grasp of their mother tongue.

Children also do well when their family culture and language are acknowledged and celebrated in the setting. Joanne Fernandes, ELLP at Butterflies Nursery at the Marsh Farm Children's Centre, put this advice into practice. She explains, 'We asked parents to help us communicate with their children by teaching us at least ten words and phrases in their home language. The parents really appreciate this, and relationships, which were good, are now even better!'

Progress

An important aspect of ECaT involves monitoring children's progress in Listening and Attention, Understanding of Language, Speech Sounds and Talk and Social Skills. The good news from Luton is that excellent progress has been made in all these areas since the introduction of ECaT. The actual process of collecting the data has also helped improve practitioners' knowledge of the developmental stages within speech, language and communication.

Parents and practitioners were also asked at the beginning of ECaT about their confidence in understanding how language develops and how they can help children's speech and language. These questions will soon be revisited, and early feedback suggests Luton has already come a long way in supporting both practitioners and parents.

So what's next for Luton? ECaT is supported by a multi-agency team of key partners who are committed to sustaining the impact of ECaT once the funding has ended and ensuring that the good practice that began in the 20 ECaT settings extends throughout the borough.

Michael Rosen, the outgoing Children's Laureate, who has taken a keen interest in EcaT, summed up the whole process when he said, 'It may seem an obvious thing to say, but one of the best things we can do with young children is to have interesting and enjoyable conversations with them.'

In Luton, the conversation is beginning to flow.

Michael Jones is the early language consultant for ECaT in Luton and Sue Thomas is senior consultant, early years and childcare with strategic lead for ECaT and CLLD in Luton

More information

- The Bercow Review (2008): A review of services for children and young people (0-19) with speech, language and communication needs www.dcsf.gov.uk/slcnaction

- ICAN report (2006) The Cost to the nation of children's poor communication. www.ican.org.uk

- National Evaluation of Sure Start (2007), www.surestart. gov.uk

- To find out about Chatterboxes, contact Tracey Spence, advisory teacher for children with speech and language difficulties via tracey.spence@luton.gov.uk

- Treasure baskets are available from www.heritagetreasurebaskets.co.uk