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School Support

Many young children experience difficulties with communicating. Almost all children with learning difficulties have problems with understanding, pronunciation, and communicating their ideas. This often leads to challenging behaviour. My support to schools and pre-school settings aims to enhance the quality of teaching for all children. I focus on the way that adults talk with children, and how we can encourage children to talk with each other. I model a range of practical activities to develop talk. Nursery schools, pre-school settings and infants’ and primary schools have found my input particularly helpful when planning for inclusion.

Support for Early Years

I plan with a setting the areas of communication they would like to develop. Many settings want to enhance the quality of language experience of all children, as well as focus on the needs of individuals. My preferred way of working is to spend a day in a setting, working with children and adults, followed by training sessions, where we share good practice.

Practical work with children in Early Years

A typical day involves me working with groups of children and adults, playing games based on a popular story. Later we share the story with the whole group at story time. I demonstrate how this method leads to all children being involved in activities that enhance their language. I work with adults and children, looking at how adults and children talk with each other, and model positive ways of talking together. I look at the environment and the way activities are organised. I make suggestions for developing the environment to promote children talking together. I particularly look at how children with learning difficulties are included within the setting.

As a follow up to the visit, I write an informal report, looking at positive areas of practice, and make suggestions for development. I can arrange training after school on that day, or at a later date (see ' Training Courses')

Workshops for parents, on how they can support language development at home, can be arranged.