Monthly update for communication language and literacy
Our monthly updates provide information and resources for early years practitioners to support communication, language and literacy developments.
March 2025
This month our Come Talk with Me Top Tip is:
“Help your child to learn new words by describing what your child is doing as they play”
Researchers from the ESRC International Centre for Language and Communicative Development (LuCiD) have written some interesting articles for Nursery World, one of which is all about ‘Contingent Talk’. This style of talking that seems to be particularly important in the nine- to 18-month period. This involves tuning into what a baby is interested in and then talking with them about it. Danielle Matthews, Michelle McGillion and Julian Pine explain more.
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February 2025
This month our Come Talk with Me Top Tip is:
Notice what your child is interested in and follow their lead when playing. Your child will want to talk for longer about something that interests them.
pdf , 69.32 KB
January 2025
This month our Come Talk with Me Top Tip is:
“Have some screen free time each day – turn off the TV, phone and computer and talk with your child. This will give your child time to learn new words”
Currently the World Health Organization recommends no screen time for babies under 2 and no more than one hour of screen time a day for those aged 2 to 4.
The negative effects of too much screen time for babies and toddlers range from shorter attention span to lower empathy, which ultimately can lead to difficulties with communication and language skills.
In this article Babies Need Humans Not Screens, Carlota Nelson, director of the documentary Brain Matters, explores why too much screen time can harm babies and the importance of ensuring children enjoy off-screen experiences.
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Communication Champion Workshops
Wednesday 5th and Thursday 6th March 2025 from 6pm to 8pm
This term the Communication Champion Workshops focus is “Words for Life” and therefore will be exploring strategies to support learning words.
The workshops will also give you
- new ideas, activities and top tips.
- the chance to meet and work with staff from other settings every term.
- a chance to discuss Speech, Language and Communication with members of the CYP SLT service.
- an interactive session. This session will include whole group discussions, small group work and opportunities for self-reflection (please scan the QR code for more information)
- new this term one of the BCP Early Year Advisors will be there to support with queries related to the use of the WellComm Toolkit (6-6.30pm)
Please see the flyers for more information and to book your place:
World Book Day 2025
Put 6 March 2025 in your diary for World Book Day 2025! Sign up to our newsletter to hear more about the campaign and our latest competitions and discover our resources now available to download, packed with fantastic ideas and tools to help you plan your World Book Day celebrations.
The National Literacy Trust
Take a look at the latest newsletter from the National Literacy Trust. This is full of great ideas to share with parents, including Internation Language Mother’s Day activities and downloadable free resources translated into 19 languages.