Ideas to help all children
All children need support to develop speech, language and communication skills. The following resources will help provide the right environment and opportunities:
- Every Child A Talker (ECAT) – See the speech, language and communication strategies guides on Instruction, Commentary, Modelling, Pausing, and Expanding.
- Environmental audit – Supporting communication in the environment.
- Adult-child interaction evaluation – Reflecting on adult-child interaction.
- Speech, Language and Communication Toolkit: Universal Support for all Children – Early Language Support for Every Child (ELSEC).
- Ordinarily Available Provision – Ideas to support children’s communication and interaction skills.
- Help for Early Years Providers – Communication and language resources.
Early identification and assessment
It is important to identify and focus on which area of communication a child needs the most support with, such as:
- listening and attention
- receptive language
- expressive language
- social communication
Working with parents and carers can give more information about the needs of a child. The following tools help gather the right information:
- ECAT - Child Monitoring Tool and Action Plan
- ELSEC - Speech, Language and Communication Toolkit
- Early Years - Small Steps Document
- ELSEC - Screening Tools
- Speech Sound Screen - Children’s Speech and Language Therapy Service
Early interventions
Once a child’s main areas of need are identified the following resources offer ideas to support the child:
- Early Interventions speech, language and communication resources
- ELSEC - Speech, Language and Communication Toolkit: Targeted Support
- Graduated Approach Booklet for children with SEND
Specific concerns
For some children there may be specific concerns, such as stammering their voice, etc. You can find more specific advice on Help, Support and Resources.
Helping parents to support their child
Working together with parents and carers help a child to make the most progress. The following resources can help in this:
- Let’s Get Talking – offering parents practical advice and support
- CBeebies Speech and language – advice, activities, games and stories to help parents to support and develop their child’s communication skills
- LCC language cards
- Little Moments Together – a resource from the National Literacy trust which are available in different languages
- Help your child to develop and learn in their first 5 years