Speech & Language

1.1 Explain each of the terms :

Speech
Speech refers to saying sounds accurately and in the right places in words. Sounds people use to communicate words & speaking fluently, without hesitating, or prolonging or repeating words or sounds Speaking with expression with a clear voice, using pitch, volume and intonation to support meaning.

Language
Language is Using words to build up sentences, sentences to build up conversations and longer stretches of spoken language also understanding and making sense of what people say.

Communication
Communication is a two way process by which ideas are exchanged between individuals. It is a way to make your needs and wants known (expressing) there is more than one way to communicate such as spoken, written, sounds, pictures, symbols or using non verbal communication such as gestures or signing. Communication is an essential life skill for children and young people and it underpins their social, emotional and educational development.

Speech, language and communication needs
Children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) find it difficult to communicate with others. Some children find it hard to understand what is said to them, form words and construct sentences, find the right words to express thoughts and feelings, and understand rules for social interaction and conversation. SLCN can have a lasting effect on children’s lives. Studies of children with SLCN have shown that children whose language difficulties are unresolved by the time they start school are more likely to have later academic, social and emotional difficulties associated with their language difficulty.
1.2 Explain how speech, language and communication skills support each of the following areas in children’s development:
Learning- When childrens SLC skills have grown and are at a standard level they are able to ask questions when learning, ask for help instead of getting stressed and irritable and communicate to their peers if an activity is group based, children can also talk about anything they are currently learning about and slowly be able to expand as their SLC skills grow which in turn can be marked off within their development chart/childs passport.
Emotional- When the childs SLC skills are at a reasonable level they will be less likely to throw tantrums due to being able to talk through their feelings and express why they are feeling like that at that current time, they are understanding more as they can communicate how they’re feeling and what if they cannot communicate the exact feeling they can instead describe what it feels like. Within my setting I have been in a situation where a child described anger as a big red ball of fuzzy in their tummy.
Behaviour- Once a child understands language they can begin to understand the consequences of their actions, they can explain why they carried out a certain action if they hurt another child/adult. They behaviour will improve & they will have more of a tendency to join in at group discussions, for example if a group of children and an adult read through a book and asked questions about the book after the child will have more of a tendency to join in as they can communicate & have understood what has been asked of them thus resulting in a happier child instead of a frustrated, isolated one.
Social- Allows children to understand the feelings of others and ways we may interact with each other, the child wont be so isolated compared to if they had trouble with their SLC skills as they can talk to their peers and are able to understand what the child or adult is saying to/asking of them, the child is able to join in group games that requires speech and an understanding of rules, this allows them to form friendships and the child wont be isolated which again in turn will result in a much happier child.

4.1 Explain the importance of the environment in supporting speech, language and communication development:
The environment is important for supporting SLC development because certain props/displays which show the childrens interests may engage the child into asking questions, talking about the display and by doing this, it may then engage another child into the conversation which then the two children can have a conversation. Within my setting we have recently put up a beach themed display board, a child saw it and started talking to a member of staff, telling them they had gone to the beach and what they did, another child then approached and started saying they did the same as the other child, the adult after a minute or so removed themselves from the conversation and the conversation carried on flowing for a further 2-3 minutes with each child using words we have never heard them use before, they then went off and played seperately. The environment can support children with making friendships if they have common interests thus helping their communication skills and speech and in some cases language. A different display of books each week will encourage children to touch read (age appropriate) they can also help the child to communicate on how the characters in the book are feeling and helping them to recognise emotion if pictures are available. Different shapes, colours, measurements within the environment will all help a child, allowing them to learn different words such as big, small, long, short, blue, purple, orange, rectangle, circle, kite. Almost everything in the environment you provide will interest a child, it is in their nature to explore and through providing a stimulating environment you will then find your child expanding on their speech, language and communication skills.
4.2 Review evidence about the key factors that provide a supportive speech, language and communication environment.
4.2 Key Factors may include:
+ The physical environment: I am based in the 2 & a half to 3 & a half years old unit within my setting, our unit is split into two rooms, one is a play room and the other is an art based room, we have our own small patio garden and a grass area garden which has a climbing frame, 2 slides, a tunnel, wooden bench area which is also a sandpit, we have a wood chippings area aswel where tree stumps are based in the ground. Within the playroom we have various activities set out (these all depend on what has been planned for the week) we always have a roleplay area each week, we have a story corner which the books are changed frequently, it is also cornered off from the rest of the room using a netted sheet so the children can also have some quiet time in there. Children can roam freely between inside the unit and the garden aslong as their are adequate members of staff within both places. When children arrive in the morning they meet and greet in the art room, there are activities usually already out by the time the children arrive and we encourage all the children already there to greet each child as they arrive. We have a period of time within the morning where we have “group time” this is when the keyworker has their keychildren and focuses on specific activities which they feel their key children may be lacking in, recently a keychild of mine was referred to a speech therapist, so to incorporate the same activities in their nursery time we have allocated a special box to them that they must ask for when they want it, it is called the “tap, tap box” we sit with the box and say “tap, tap, tap whats in the box” and each week we put in 3 different items until they learn the names and can mimic a sound that the item makes, for example the child currently has a car and train within the box, they will pull the car out and say “brum, brum” or “car”, and for the train “choo, choo” or “train”.
Staff roles and responsibilities: Each week the staff in each unit alternate who does the planning, we will gather observations on monday, tuesday and wednesday and we will start the planning on wednesday afternoon doing a rough guide until we gather observations from thursday and friday which we will then add to aswel as to not miss out any children. We plan for each childs interest and we also do focus planning for each day of the week, we must link the focus planning to the EYFS and describe exactly what we would like the child to gain from it or learn from it. When we think we have a child with communication issues, we must raise the concern with the designated member of staff, that member of staff will then come and assess the child and together with the staff who work in the same unit as the child we will write up a plan on how to tackle the communication issues, whether it be a change of activities, involving parents with possible referring to a speech therapist or something else. We will also hold meetings with the staff in that unit, the designated member of staff dealing with the communication and the manager to see how the child is progressing, if the child is progressing we will continue to monitor the child, if they are not then another plan of action will be drawn up with the parents aswel. Within the setting we have 2 brothers who speak a different language, they know a little english but some words they struggled with, after observing them we found they would substitute a word they didn't know in english for a word in their own language, we noted these down and slowly introduced activities which the children had to use the words they were substituting. We use makaton supported by a PECS chart within the setting on a daily basis for a child who does not speak, they respond well to the makaton and chart and it has helped to improve their behaviour as before they would kick and scream most likely out of frustration.
Training needs and opportunities: Within the setting we have designated members of staff for various roles, the designated staff get put on regular training in correspondence with their work role and whenever any new training is available that fits into their work role, they are then put on the relevant training asap. First aid, hygiene with food and safeguarding training are all provided. Every 6 months a 5 page booklet containing courses is given to each unit asking each member of staff if they would like to further their knowledge in specific areas of their job. At the start of the year we had someone from the council come in and show us how to plan better in accordance to ‘Problem solving, reasoning and numeracy’ as we were struggling with new ideas.
Views of the child: Whilst we do the weekly planning, we suggest to the children different activities, to see if they would like them out. After we have completed the planning we will ask the children if there are any particular activities they would like out the following week, we also encourage show and tell on a weekly basis so we can get a feel for the childs interests and the child in turn gain confidence with talking out loud and in front of small groups.
Appropriate involvement of carers: If we have a child that is slightly delayed with their speech, language and communication we will discuss anything that has happened that current day when the child is being picked up at home time with the parents or if we feel it will take longer than a few minutes to relay information/the parent does not have enough time to discuss the matter there and then, we will then arrange a meeting where the matter can be discussed. We have care plan books which come to nursery and go home with the children with each session they attend, this is a book which both parents/carers and staff within the nursery write in to communicate with each, we also write in here how the child has been, what they have done throughout the day, what they have eaten and their sleep times.