Communication is a vital life skill, crucial for children's literacy and social development. It is the springboard for learning. Poor communication skills cost the individual, families and the nation dearly. We know early years practitioners are aware of how important communication is, but do they have the information and resources to support this?
Your free dvd By completing the survey below and sending it to I CAN you will automatically receive a free copy of 'Learning to Talk, Talking to Learn'. This is a new DVD-based self-study resource jointly developed by BT's Better World Campaign and I CAN, which supports workers to create communication-rich environments. Learning to Talk won't be released until 10 May and only 20,000 are being produced, but by completing this survey you will be sure to receive a copy.
Return your form to I CAN (by either cutting out or photocopying this page) at I CAN Survey, I CAN, 8 Wakley Street, London EC1V 7QE, or complete the form online at www.ican.org.uk.
Name
Email address
Age
Job
* Male * female
Address
How many years of practice experience do you have?
* 0-5 * 6-10
* 11-15 * 16+
Level of education?
* NVQ (state level)
* GCSEs
* A/AS Levels
* Degree/postgraduate qualification
* Professional qualification (please state)
Have you ever worked with a child with speech and language difficulties?
* YES * NO
At what age do you think a child should be able to:
(Appropriate age groups: 1-2 years 2-3 years 3-4 years 4-5 years over 5 years )
* Understand basic words and use hand gestures
* Put basic sentences together
* Ask lots of questions and socialise with friends
* Speak confidently in conversations with occasional mistakes
* Listen to an instruction with two parts
* Listen to an instruction while concentrating on something else or playing
* Speak clearly using most of the speech sounds for English
Have you ever received any information or training on how to support children's communication, speech and language development in your setting?
* YES * NO
How confident do you feel about supporting children's speech, language and communication development in your setting?
* Very confident
* Confident
* Not confident
What percentage of your daily activities in your setting are dedicated or designed to support children's speech, language and communication development?
* Under 25 per cent n 25-50 per cent
* 50-75 per cent n 75-100 per cent
How confident are you that Ofsted inspections accurately assess your setting's ability to develop children's speech and language?
* Very confident
* Confident
* Not confident
Which features below do you feel would make a 'communication friendly'
setting?
* Lots of noise and talking in the setting
* Quiet areas for children
* Mainly large group activities
* Signing systems such as Makaton
* Pictures of activities used to tell children what is happening next
* Children organising their own time
Whose responsibility do you think it is to develop children's speech, language and communication skills?
* Parents
* Other members of the child's family
* Early years workers
* Teacher
* Speech and language therapist
* GP
* Psychologist
* All adults involved with the child
LEARNING TO TALK, TALKING TO LEARN
Presented by Dr Tanya Byron from the House of Tiny Tearaways and Little Angels (pictured), Learning to Talk has been jointly produced by the BT Better World Campaign and I CAN as part of the Make Chatter Matter campaign. The self-study resource supports workers in the early years, including tips and examples of how they can turn every activity in their setting into a communication development opportunity. A series of observation sequences give practitioners the opportunity to view and note how childcare workers have either missed or seized opportunities for speech and language development in their setting. Playback of the sequences with commentary also allows practitioners to compare their notes with those of speech and language and education experts.
