Communication
Pregnancy
- Start communicating with your baby in pregnancy through talking and touch
From birth
- babies communicate from day one
- take time to watch your child, wait and listen
- find time every day to talk with your baby/child. For example, whilst shopping and in the car
- playing with your child is important for speech and language development; sing and listen to nursery rhymes and songs together, this also helps to develop your child's language
- enjoy sharing stories and reading together
- rather than asking too many questions, comment on your child's play or actions and add a new word or idea. For example, "Mmh a banana. A yellow banana", rather than "what's that you're eating?"
- give time for your child to respond in their own way - with a look, a gesture, or with sounds and words
- use the Five to Thrive principles: Respond, Cuddle, Relax, Play, Talk. This will build attachment and support language development as you are connecting with your child.
If English is not your first language
- use the language you are most fluent in to talk to your baby - this is important to help your babies brain development to support speech, language and communication
- children learn English faster if they are building on firm foundations in their first language
- on average, children with a well-developed first language reach fluency in English 2 to 3 years sooner than children without.
- Children's centres - Children's Centres Parenting Programme
- Wiltshire Children's Services: Speech and Language Therapy (HCRG Care Group) (opens new window) - Speech and Language Therapy Department
- Wiltshire Parent Carer Council (WPCC) (opens new window)
- Choosing a pre-school or nursery - Local pre-schools, nurseries and childminders
- Top Tips for starting childcare/school
- Speech and Language UK (ICan): Ages and stages (opens new window) - website with information on children's communication including ages and stages
- Early Education: Early Years Foundation Stage Framework (opens new window) - non-statutory guidance which supports all those working in early childhood education settings to implement the requirements of the Statutory Framework for EYFS
- HCRG Care Group: Wiltshire children's services (opens new window) - website has toolkits for different areas of communication and the Preschool Communication Tracker
- Speech and Language UK (ICan): CPD Online Short Course: An introduction to speech and language (opens new window) - An introduction to speech, language and communication
- National Literacy Trust: Bilingual quick tips (opens new window) - Literacy Trust website
- Wiltshire EAL Helping Hand for Early Years Practitioners (gi.ui.mediatype.powerpoint) [101KB] (opens new window) - A useful resource to support understanding around using a child's first language to support their development.
- 'More than 10% of children and young people have long term speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) which create barriers to communication and learning in everyday life.' Bercow 10 Years on
- Less than half of all children who had not reached the expected levels of language at the age of 5 years went on to achieve the national benchmark scores in reading, writing and maths at 11 years' Centre Forum 2016. Education in England Annual Report
- 'Children with poor vocabulary skills are twice as likely to be unemployed when they reach adulthood' Bercow 10 Years On report