Examples of Research
More than 1.4 million children and young people in the UK have speech, language and communication needs (SLCN).
Language disorder alone is one of the most common disorders of childhood affecting nearly 10% of children and young people everywhere throughout their lives.
In areas of social disadvantage this number can rise to 50% of all children and young people, including those with delayed language as well as children with identified SLCN. Statistics quoted in Bercow:Ten Years On
Example 1
An independent review of provision for children and young people with speech, language and communication needs in England. March 2018
Every year, 150,000 of the UK's poorest children start school with language skills a year and a half behind their peers - a gap most will never recover from. Taken from National Literacy Trust 2018
Example 2
Small groups 1:1, 1:2, gives children the opportunity to delve into the pictures and to go back and review what they have seen and heard.
Large group stories do have some impact but for those children who you know will only hear stories in your setting they are not likely to be sufficient.
Penny Tassoni advises that the ideal would be for every child to have one shared book a day. Obviously this would prove to be a challenge but you could identify children who you know will not be read to regularly at home, which she says are the unlucky children, and try to share a story with them every day. Tassoni, P Reducing Educational Disadvantage2016
Example 3
Ready to Read was published in 2015, The document states that;
Being able to read well is vital for a child's prospects at school and in life. Yet every year, almost 148,000 children leave primary school in England unable to read well. This includes one third of all children growing up in poverty. For many, the impact on their life chances is likely to be dramatic. This national failing helps explain the persistent educational divide in England that, each year, prevents thousands of our poorest children from fulfilling their potential.
Example 4
Language and literacy are entwined. It is not possible for children to become literate unless they have mastered language, and so the first priority is always to support children's language. Tassoni, P 2016 Featherstone Reducing Educational Disadvantage
Example 5
By 22 months - a child's language development can predict outcomes at age 26.
By ages 2 to 3 years - a child's narrative skills are a powerful predictor of literacy skills at 8 to 13 years.
By 4 years - the difference in the number of words children from disadvantaged backgrounds hear is 19 million.
By 5 years - a child's vocabulary will predict their educational success and outcomes at age 30. (I CAN 2014).