Graham Allen's independent review Early Intervention: The Next Steps is the latest report to highlight language poverty in children. It follows similar findings in the Bercow Report (2008), Sir Jim Rose's primary curriculum review (2009) and Frank Field's review (2010), all of which cite language delay, limited vocabulary and poor comprehension as serious problems.
Language deficit in children hinders their entry into school, social life and employment. A high proportion of young offenders have poor communication skill, which hampers their inclusion in learning programmes for rehabilitation.
The last government committed £12m to address 40 Bercow recommendations and £40m to launch 'Every Child a Talker'. Communications Champion Jean Gross is tasked with supervising this year as 'National Year of Speech Language and Communication'.
It is notable that the various mending programmes list 'talking, language, vocabulary and speech' as the goals. But to talk, we must first learn to listen. Listening is the first step to understanding and talking. Radio can help.
Radio can bring a necessary balance to the predominant screen and keyboard activity that is frequently linked with childhood obesity, attention disorders and language delay.
Publicly funded radio for young listeners was an early casualty in BBC cuts when the corporation axed Go4It: the last half hour of children's radio from its mainstream networks. What little remains is hidden away in adult speech schedules on R7 and this too is under threat in the proposed relaunch as R4Xtra.
A group of prominent educators, chaired by the Baroness Warnock, wants an independent evaluation of radio's potential in listening, language and early years development. Daily songs, stories, rhymes, sound and word games, together with parental guidance, would air on the BBC digital Asian Network, due for closure. The two-year pilot would be followed by published outcomes. To view the proposition, go to www.soundstart.com.
