Blog post Part of special issue: Revisiting the Children’s Plan: Towards a new manifesto for tackling early years inequality

Putting oral language at the heart of early years education

Cristina McKean, Senior Academic Research Leader at University of Oxford Claudine Bowyer-Crane, Professor of Education at University of Sheffield 24 Jan 2025

In her TES article in July 2023, the now UK Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, emphasised oral language skills in her commitment to improving early years education. This is a crucial step for those of us working to address concerns around children’s speech, language and communication skills needs (SLCN). We know that many children start school with poor language skills, particularly children in disadvantaged areas. Moreover, evidence is emerging that the pandemic exacerbated this situation.

The individual, societal and economic costs of not addressing this issue are profound. Children who start school with weak language skills are at greater risk of poor educational, employment and mental health outcomes, and are more likely to have contact with the youth justice system and perpetuate intergenerational poverty. In this blog post we highlight the limitations of current approaches to speech and language support, introduce a framework for addressing speech, language and communication needs, and make recommendations for the Labour government on how to tackle this issue.

‘Currently, approaches to addressing oral language difficulties tend to be reactive, with support coming too late.’

Despite growing awareness of the importance of oral language development to children’s outcomes, the existing interventions are falling short. Currently, approaches to addressing oral language difficulties tend to be reactive, with support coming too late. McKean and Reilly (2023) note that too often interventions are introduced only after children have started school, by which time the language gap has widened significantly. This delay leaves children playing catch-up, struggling to keep pace with the curriculum. Furthermore, while short-term interventions may provide some immediate improvements, they are unlikely to lead to sustained, long-term gains in oral language development. As a result, schools are left dealing with the consequences of inadequate language skills that could have been addressed much earlier.

Experts in both practice and research have been working to implement effective evidence-based approaches to supporting children’s SLCN. Organisations such as Speech and Language UK, the Education Endowment Foundation and the Nuffield Foundation have contributed significantly to this effort, evaluating programmes such as the home-based Talking Together (see Nielsen et al., 2023) and PACT programmes, and settings-based programmes such as Talking Time. The Better Start projects have also improved the quality of SLC skills for children in some of the country’s most deprived areas. But there is still a lot to do.

In a TES article we wrote about the need for place-based approaches, recognising local complexities and aiming for a system wherein all services involved with early years children and families collaborate to support SLCN. We encourage policymakers to support research that develops and evaluates interventions in local contexts, aligning them with the distinct needs of diverse communities. McKean and Reilly (2023) have drawn together the best evidence to describe a framework for place-based approaches, describing the content and characteristics of the framework, identifying strategic enablers required for a successful whole-system, place-based approach, and outlining a six-step process to enable its adoption and embedding in a given locality (see figure 1).

Figure 1: Six-step process to enable the adoption of a place-based approach in a given locality

There are existing examples of this approach. For instance, Early Talk for York is a whole-system approach to improving SLC outcomes for children aged 0–5 years. Since its implementation, this approach has improved speech and language outcomes and reduced the disadvantage gap. Furthermore, the National Institute for Health and Care Research has recently funded a large study (PLACES) to evaluate and develop guidance for the implementation of similar approaches with a focus on equity and collaborative practice.

What should the Labour government do?

We urge the Labour government to put oral language at the heart of early years education, invest in high-quality early years education, provide support for families, and ensure access to early intervention. We recommend that a systemic and holistic approach is taken, with all professionals who have contact with families with early years children being equipped to recognise SLCN and work in partnership to provide the most appropriate support. Importantly, we recommend that oral language be recognised as a public health issue, with a programme of routine data collection from birth to ensure children with SLCN are identified early. All children should have access to the necessary support for optimal language development, laying a strong foundation for their future learning and wellbeing.

References

McKean, C., & Reilly, S. (2023). Creating the conditions for robust early language development for all: Part two: Evidence informed public health framework for child language in the early years. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 58(6), 2242–2264. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12927

Nielsen, D., d’Apice, K., Cheung, R. W., Bryant, M., Heald, R., Storr, C., … & Bowyer-Crane, C. (2023). A randomised controlled feasibility trial of an early years language development intervention: Results of the ‘outcomes of Talking Together evaluation and results’ (oTTer) project. Pilot and Feasibility Studies, 9(1), 107. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40814-023-01333-y

Cristina McKean

Senior Academic Research Leader at University of Oxford

Cristina McKean is Professor of Child Language Development & Disorders and a Senior Academic Research Leader at the Department of Education, University of Oxford. Before joining the department and after a career as a speech and language therapist, Cristina held academic positions at Newcastle University and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (Melbourne, Australia) where she continues to hold honorary positions. She was previously editor in chief for the International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, the official journal of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. She leads interdisciplinary research with global reach which develops and evaluates public health and educational practices to promote robust language development for all children. Her work is conducted through multi-disciplinary collaboration and partnerships with young people, parents, professionals and policymakers.

Claudine Bowyer-Crane, Professor

Professor of Education at University of Sheffield

Claudine Bowyer-Crane is Professor of Education in the School of Education at the University of Sheffield. She has a PhD in Psychology from the University of York. Claudine’s research focuses primarily on children’s reading and language development, particularly in the early years, with a focus on the design and evaluation of interventions to support children who struggle to develop these skills. Claudine’s current research is looking at the impact of the disruptions caused by the pandemic on children’s language, socioemotional and educational outcomes.