Children need good language skills to do their best at school and become confident and successful learners.
Many preschool children do not have the language skills they need to access the curriculum, with children
from areas of social disadvantage at greatest risk of delay. Children who enter Reception with poor language
skills struggle with literacy and are at risk of social and behavioural difficulties.
The Talking Time© programme will help you to prioritise support for children’s oral language through
evidence-based professional development for your early years team.
We are looking for 130 settings in parts of the North West, East of England, London, and West Midlands to take part in a research study evaluating the Talking Time© programme. Schools with nurseries and private, voluntary and independent (PVI) group settings are eligible.
Talking Time© is a universal oral language programme for pre-school children aged 3 to 5. It supports Early Years practitioners to deliver engaging, structured small-group activities to children and enhance oral language through high-quality interactions. Although manualised, the programme is designed to be flexible and adaptable to suit
individual children, settings and contexts. It has three main elements:
1. A flexible intervention programme
2. A practitioner manual (including activity plans and conversation prompts) and 5 core storybooks
3. Staff professional development: training + modelling, coaching and mentoring
Children take part in two 15-minute activities per week during regular provision, for up to 20 weeks. Activities take place in small groups (up to 5 children) of mixed language ability. The three evidence-based Talking Time© activities are designed to promote high-quality conversations with children.
Story Conversations: shared storytelling and conversation using illustrations in storybooks as prompts;
Word Play: games and guided role play designed to develop vocabulary breadth and depth;
Hexagons: narrative discussion and retelling based on photos of real situations and routines likely to be familiar to children within their lives and local areas.
Through professional development (see Table 1) and reflection, staff are supported in tailoring plans and prompts to meet the language needs of their children. The aim is to gradually decrease reliance on programme materials so staff feel equipped to own, adapt and embed the programme to suit their children and setting. Talking Time© has already been shown to support children’s oral language in other research studies, including significant impacts on staff practice, children’s talk in groups and children’s vocabulary.
To ask questions, please contact: [email protected]
To express interest, please complete the form below by clicking the link:
For more information, visit our project webpages: