What We Say & Do Matters

High quality interactions between adults & young children will help to narrow the gap for

our most vulnerable children

Presented by: Diana Vincent

(Early Years Advisory Teacher)

Learning Objectives for Workshop

To understand the crucial role adults play in supporting children to develop appropriate communication & language skills

To understand that adults should begin to support children’s communication from birth

To understand that adults can successfully use a wide range of spoken as well as non-verbal strategies to develop children’s skills

To understand that an adult’s interaction style can have an instant impact on a child’s communication & learning

What we say & do matters! Research has shown that caregiver

behaviour has a direct effect on the

development of the child

Children’s development is facilitated by warm

interaction with adults who know the child well

enough to be responsive and to scaffold

(support & extend) learning NDNA Quality assurance scheme ‘Quality Counts’

Recent studies show that there is a 16 month gap in school readiness between the most & least disadvantaged children

The language children hear matters

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

12 mos 24 mos 36 mos 48 mos

lowest talkfamilies

lower talkfamilies

high talkfamilies

Number of words spoken to childrenHart and Risley, Meaningful Differences, 1995

mill

ion

s o

f w

ord

s

Children’s vocabulary size Hart and Risley, Meaningful Differences, 1995

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

14 mos 22 mos 30 mos 36 ms

lowest talkfamilies

lower talkfamilies

high talkfamilies

The language children hear matters

Quantity AND Quality of Adult Language

Children react instantly to the manner of adult

interactionStill Life Experiment: Dr Edward TronickMother with very young baby: 2 different

interaction styles

YouTube clip from Nottinghamshire’s Language for Life website:

www.nottslanguageforlife.co.uk/ResourcesAndLinks 2.49 minutes (can be just as powerful with no sound)

What does OFSTED say?The new Early Years Inspection Handbook says:

“When observing interactions between staff and children, inspectors should consider how well staff:

Engage in dialogue with children

Watch, listen & respond to children

Model language well

Encourage children to express their thoughts & use new words

Support independence & confidence

Encourage children to speculate & test ideas through trial & error

Enable children to explore & solve problems

Behave as an excellent role model for children to copy”

Early Years Inspection Handbook p.16 BP 67

What will good quality adult/ child interactions look like?

Rules of Thumb

Do children appear relaxed, able to ask for help and willing to initiate conversations with adults and children?

Do children appear to be generally content, happy and enjoying themselves?

Child’s Perspective

Adult’s Perspective

Do adults encourage children to co-operate and share with one another?

Do adults appear to be generally happy in what they are doing and seem to enjoy being with the children?

Do adults use everyday interactions to promote children's learning?

Do adults respond sensitively to children’s verbal and non-verbal signals?

Do adults label objects for children by naming and at the same time pointing or holding the object?

Are children asked questions that require more than just yes/no answers?

Do adults respond to what children say by encouraging them to develop their comments into a conversation

Do adults interact with children using positive non-verbal communication?

Activity 1: Interaction Styles

Watch DVD clip 1 & complete tally chartWatch DVD clip 2 & complete tally chartDiscuss positive adult interaction styles

Observation Frameworks SOUL Process

Stop Observe Understand Listen

HANEN OWLing

Observe Wait Listen

Resources to support practitioners

ECERs/ITERs/FCCERsMapping to EYFSECaT Checklists for

ECERs/ITERS/FCCERsECaT Top TipsECaT Positive Relationships

Audit

Activity 2: Play dough

In groups of 3: 1 person playing (CHILD) 1 person interacting (ADULT) by asking

questions 1 person observing & evaluating interaction

5 minutes

Experiential Learning

Feedback from OBSERVERFeedback from CHILDFeedback from ADULT

Interaction Strategies for Practitioners

Join children at their physical level Use the SOUL or OWLing process to guide your interactions &

observations Follow the child’s lead; model turn-taking with them Participate in child’s play, showing interest in what they are

doing Use comments as conversational openers rather than

questions Label and describe children’s actions & the objects they are

playing with Acknowledge what children say or do, if they are non-verbal Encourage children to extend their responses by scaffolding to

the next level Ask questions sparingly especially closed questions Use open-ended questions to promote episodes of Shared

Sustained Thinking

Sustained Shared Thinking An episode in which two or more individuals

“work together” in an intellectual way to solve a problem, clarify a concept, evaluate activities, extend a narrative etc. Both parties must contribute to the thinking & it must develop & extend …”

(Siraj-Blatchford et al 2004)

Recent EPPE (2005) study found that SST is more prevalent in the most effective preschool learning environments

How can adults support SST?

Tuning In

Showing Genuine Interest

Respecting Children’s Own Decisions & Choices

Inviting Children to Elaborate

Recapping

Offering Your Own Experience

Clarifying Ideas

Suggesting

Reminding

Using Encouragement to Further Thinking

Offering an Alternative Viewpoint

Speculating

Reciprocating

Asking Open Questions

Modelling Thinking

What Could These Strategies Sound Like/Look Like?

How to open a dialogue & give verbal feedback successfully:

Flip Chart activity:

What phrases would you use to open a dialogue with a child?

What phrases would you use to give verbal feedback to a child?

Resources to take away with you:

ECaT Checklists for ECERS/ITERS/FCCERSECaT Audit toolECaT Top Tips for TalkingDialogue/Feedback phrasesSST Top Tips

Narrowing the Gap

By reflecting on your own & your colleagues interaction styles, you will hopefully be able to make (slight) changes/alterations that will positively benefit all the children you support …

Often the children who are most At Risk of Delay for the development of age appropriate communication & language skills as pre-schoolers have had impoverished early experiences of interaction with adults close to them

As adults who will develop warm consistent relationships with many of these vulnerable children, interacting positively & appropriately with them will contribute to narrowing the gap for these children to maximise the benefit they gain from attending nurseries & preschools.