Whitecross Nursery School is proud to be part of TALK Derby (2021)

TALK Derby is an initiative across the city to raise awareness of the importance for children to be confident, effective communicators. It provided funding for staff in Early Years settings to access speech, language and communication training. This supported the staff team to refresh and extend our knowledge and understanding of speech and language development in young children, ensuring that we are up-to-date with current good practice. It offers lots of practical advice and ideas to enhance our 'communication-friendly' learning environment.

Please visit the Talk Derby website for further information. There is a section specifically for parents/carers.

https:// talkderby.org.uk

Please find below some of the key strategies to develop positive interactions that we use at Whitecross, and that you may find useful at home.

• Allow the child opportunities to choose the toy or activity.
• WAIT for the child to act, vocalise or talk. This provides them with valuable thinking time to plan and organise what they want to say or do.
• Follow or copy the child’s lead.
• Gain the child’s full attention before speaking to them.
• Talk about what the child is doing, provide a simple commentary.
• Use short, simple sentences.
• Use non-verbal clues to help the child understand what you are saying, including gestures, facial expressions etc.
• Limit the number of questions (4 comments to 1 question is recommended).
• Do not correct immaturities in the child’s utterances/sentences, but model the correct language / sentence so that the child hears good examples of spoken language.
• Occasionally, add a short, simple idea or new word. This will expand a child's understanding and vocabulary.
• Be very specific when you praise the child, explain clearly what the child has done well. This helps them to understand exactly what they are being praised for.