Literacy news
Leicester: Talk Matters
18 May 2010
In Leicester, the campaign to help every child fulfil their potential starts very early. Under the city’s Talk Matters strategy, launched in 2008, first-time mothers learn about the importance of talking to their baby during ante and postnatal sessions at their local children’s centre, with messages carried on posters on the city’s buses, too. In 2008, as many as 70 per cent of Leicester’s children were below national averages in communication, language and literacy development so teachers, midwives and other practitioners are weaving messages into sessions of the Discovering Babies programme, working with first-time parents during late pregnancy and the first six months of infancy. The Discovering Babies programme, which will be running within every children’s centre by 2011, is the first stage of a preventative pathway being established by the city council. It aims to provide as rich a language environment as possible to every child, both at home and in childcare settings, so that they can avoid language delay and develop their communication skills to the full. New stages, covering six months to one year, one to two years, and two to three years, will soon follow.
A universal, city-wide developmental screening approach has been introduced, with children who appear to have communication difficulties referred on to language and development experts. A key priority is training the 1,700 practitioners working with children in early years settings through the Get Going with Communication two day course. One person from each children’s centre also attends a more in-depth course. The city has reported progress to raise standards among young children, with the share of five-year-olds reaching a good level of achievement rising from 27 per cent in 2006 to 44 per cent in 2009, with the new initiative already showing many examples of changes in behaviour among both parents and practitioners.
C4EO, the Centre for Excellence and Outcomes, has highlighted Leicester’s Talk Matters strategy as a validated practice example.
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