Category: DP Training

New figures released from Speech and Language UK show that at least 1.9 million primary and secondary aged children are now estimated to be behind with talking and understanding words. This equates to 20% of all pupils throughout the UK – 1 in 5 school aged children – the highest number ever recorded. 

 YouGov, an Internet-based market research and data analytics firm, commissioned a survey and found that: 

• 80% of teachers surveyed think children in their classroom are behind with their talking and/or understanding of words. 

• 73% of teachers surveyed think that children’s speech and language is not prioritised by the Government. 

• 53% of teachers surveyed don’t believe they have sufficient training to support pupils’ speech and language in the classroom. 

To drastically improve the lives of 1.9 million children, Speech and Language UK is urging Government and school leaders to take a number of actions to improve these figures. They have put together a strategy with 5 aims which they hope to achieve over the next 5 years.   

Speech and Language development is a big part of the work we do at Dingley’s Promise. The majority of children who access our services are at the beginning of their communication journey and have been recognised as being behind with the vital skills needed to communicate their wants and needs. Aim 1 of the Speech and Language UK strategy is to ‘Make speech and language central to more schools’ and nurseries’ everyday practice across the UK’. They want to do this by investing in more training for school and nursery staff to ensure that they use positive speech and language practices every day. This is vital for the future improved development of children’s communication and at Dingley’s Promise we already have several speech and language strategies in place to support children with special educational needs and disabilities and their families. 

We believe that communication is a key element in all learning. It improves self-confidence and wellbeing, helps build positive relationships, increases ability to learn, and ultimately leads to a better future. Not all children with SEND will learn to speak, but it is important to give them a voice and allow them to communicate in a way that is suitable for their age and stage of development. A Total Communication Environment will help to do this and requires everyone to work together to ensure that as many forms of communication as possible are consistently used, rather than relying purely on words and hearing. 

Here are some of the key strategies that we use at Dingley’s Promise to create a Total Communication Environment: 

• Reduced language – when giving instructions we keep language simple and to the point. Children will often only remember the last piece of the information, so it is important to break down the sentence and make it appropriate for the child’s current level of understanding. 
• Signing (Makaton) – we use signs and gestures alongside speech to make what we are communicating more visual. Signing is used even if none of the current children rely on this to communicate as modelling signs consistently encourages children to use them too and often signs are learnt quicker than speech in children who are struggling to talk. 
• Visuals (pictures) – visuals help to reinforce what is being said and help children to fully understand what is being asked of them. This can include the use of photos, PECS, Makaton symbols, Widgets, drawings. They are especially useful to show the routine for the day on a visual timetable, at times of transitions to help children move from one activity to another, and when asking children to make a choice between one activity/resource and another.
• Objects of reference – These are objects that have particular meanings assigned to them that we use if the child is not yet ready to use pictures. They aid understanding of verbal instructions by giving children a very visual clue about what is going to happen next. For example, giving a child a nappy to show them they are going to have a nappy change.
• Now and Next/First and Then: A board with the words ‘Now’ or ‘First’ on the left-hand side and ‘Next’ or ‘Then’ on the right-hand side, with a space underneath to add a symbol or photograph.  We use these to help a child to transition from one activity to another, to break down a sequence during an activity, or to show what activities are going to be done during a one-to-one focused learning time. 
• Communication Boards: These are laminated pieces of paper which can be specific to a certain activity (e.g painting) or time of day (e.g snack time) or can be more generalised to reflect resources available in the playroom or garden. On the boards are symbols of common words (e.g I, want), nouns, verbs and adjectives which enable the user to point at the symbol to show what they want to communicate. 
• Songs/stories – we offer shared singing and story times every day to encourage listening skills and group participation. We use rhymes and stories which include repetition and rhyming words, and support these with the use of props and signs to make them as visual and fun as possible.
• Attention Autism/Bucket – an intervention approach developed by Gina Davies to support speech and language development for Autistic children. We carry out ‘bucket’ sessions for those children who are ready to access and try to build attention and early communication skills through fun and engaging activities using the 4 stages of the Attention Autism program. 
• Intensive Interaction – by taking the child’s lead and engaging in their interests we are able to work on the interaction skills of children who are at the early levels of development. It helps children to learn the benefits of eye contact, facial expressions, body language, and turn taking opportunities, and builds their confidence at being around others.
• Line of vision – we always get down to the child’s eye level when communicating with them to make sure they can see our mouths moving and the eye contact we are giving them. Using their name to gain their attention and being close to them reinforces that we are talking to them.
• Allow time – when communicating we ensure we give them time to process and respond. They may not respond with speech but could give eye contact, pass a visual, or reach out to show that they are listening. Giving children time to respond before speaking and signing again shows that we respect their views and want to engage in a back-and-forth conversation. 
• Sensory input – we think about the environment and ways in which we could improve it to reduce noise or distractions. This includes minimising wall displays and resources in the playrooms, adding soft furnishing to reduce noise, and ensuring there are quiet areas to go to when needed. 
• Timers – These are used to give warnings as to how long is left of an activity before a transition takes place. We use sand timers and other visual countdowns, alongside using our visual timetable and the use of speech and signs. This gives the children a clear understanding that a transition is about to happen and helps to reduce frustrations. 
• Consistency – we ensure that every day we offer the same forms of communication in as many situations as possible to build on their understanding and give them the tools they need to become confident communicators themselves. 

By using all these strategies, we hope to improve the speech and language skills of the children we support, as well as give guidance to parents and families about how to support their children at home. We continually build on our knowledge through training and shared learning opportunities, as well as learning from the children and families themselves as every child is unique. We hope to improve the speech and language skills of those with SEND to give them the best possible start which will then be extended and built on as they move on to school and beyond.  

Visit Speech and Language UK

Abi Preston-Rees – Lead Trainer, Dingley’s Promise

Outdoor learning is an integral part of what we do in the early years as it can offer so many experiences and learning opportunities for our children. We know that for some children the opportunities they have to spend time in the outdoors is limited, and through our knowledge of each individual child we can offer a range of experiences that add to and enhance their cultural capital as they learn and grow with us.

Being outdoors supports children’s learning holistically. What better way to discover rain than to feel it on your skin, to jump up and down in the puddles, to listen to the splashing and the pitta patter of the raindrops; can you catch the raindrops in a bucket, can you use the water to make marks on paper, can you talk about what you are seeing, hearing and experiencing? All of these outdoor experiences don’t require more than a bucket, paintbrush and appropriate clothing! With the further input of child centred and open-ended resources the opportunities for children in the outdoor environment can be extended even further. When considering the organisation of your outdoor space, reflect on the areas of learning and look at how they will interlink as children begin to deeply engage with what is provided for them.

By introducing a few planks, tyres and safely stackable crates you can create the opportunity for children to explore their physical development but also other areas of learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage; they may learn to work together to create a pirate ship and go on an adventure, they might build an obstacle course and explore their balance and ability to climb, they could be problem solving working out how many of each resource they need to achieve their goal. Practitioners may have great intentions when they set up an experience for children however something can be anything a child wants it to be and we must be confident to follow children’s interests and let them take the lead in their learning. That stick they find on the floor can be a broom, a steering wheel, it could be Stick Man and he is looking for his next adventure and those leaves can be the path he follows! These two examples demonstrate that simple resources or simply the outdoors itself can provide unlimited opportunities for children to follow their imagination, engage and develop a variety of skills. It is not that we need to spend lots of money on wonderful outdoor specific resources in order to meet the intention of your learning, it is about how we can adapt what we have. There are items all around your settings that can be transferred outside to create an incredible and stimulating learning experience that will have an entirely different impact than they would have done in the indoor environment. Our outdoors does not need to be a replication of our indoors, in fact it should be an extension, a place to consider how we can safely push the boundaries of our children’s learning. 

Research demonstrates that different sounds, sights, textures, smells support children with special educational needs to regulate themselves whilst simultaneously promoting brain development and enhancing social skills. Some settings report that their outdoor spaces are missing this sensory stimulation that would largely benefit children. Again, this does not need to be costly process to ensure that we are able to offer sensory play within our outdoor environments. A few potted plants around the garden which include plants such as lavender or parsley will provide children with things to smell, touch and even safely taste. Some sticks, old pots and pans or a windchime will add to the sounds that can be heard and created, but you can also encourage children to listen out for the birds, insects, and vehicles in the area. Having a range of these objects around your outdoor area will encourage children to explore at their own pace and to embrace the natural world around them leading to a greater understanding of the community in which they live.

As a group of settings, we have reflected on the outdoor environment and how they support children’s learning and development. Through these conversations with practitioners, they have been able to consider what works well for their children and what they could change or add to ensure we are offering the best opportunities for each child. These collective conversations were a useful starting point to ensure the team thought holistically about the environment and individual children and were able to create a plan tailored to children’s needs and interests.

They created an action plan which highlighted the need to include more ‘natural’ greenery in some of the gardens to break up the views of hard concrete and man-made materials and structures in the immediate surrounding area. Another area of development they had considered was how they could make all learning opportunities more accessible to all children especially as they enter the more challenging weather conditions.

Together, they worked as a team to plan and implement the changes they agreed and adapted their outdoor environments to reflect the learning needs, styles and interest of the children who access their environment daily.

As you can see, they have focused on enhancing a mixture of the resources and zones available within the garden, and how these could be effectively stored and rotated. Their planning and delivery of outdoor learning opportunities now more effectively reflects the indoor environment, in that they are both set up purposefully and with the learning intentions for children in mind ensuring there’s targeted resources and learning opportunities for each area of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

The ability to reflect on the strengths and areas for development in all our practice is a great way of continuously monitoring the experiences children receive when they are with us and will enhance the skills of all early years practitioners as they will understand why a space is used the way it is or why a child needs resources made available in a particular way because they have taken the time to recognise and understand the unique learning of the individual child.