An article in the Guardian, by Henry Porter, considered the state of children's emotional wellbeing and the importance of families spending time together. The article noted reports which show children as unable to write their own names or string a sentence together when starting school, and the Unicef report which showed British children as the unhappiest from the Western world.
The article highlighted that investment from goverment of £21bn in schemes such as SureStart means that a lack of funds cannot be blamed. It suggested that the real problem is ourselves, with adult society and individualism having an impact on those in the next generation.
Porter writes that some children's needs are perhaps not being met, in terms of time spent with them, listening to them and giving them security but also freedom to explore. Children's acute fear of traffic, worries about gangs, lack of respect and obsessions with celebrity culture are just some of the impacts suggested.
Education targets are also highlighted with Dr Anthony Seldon, Tony Blair's autobiographer and headmaster of Wellington College, quoted. "The degree of testing is an absurdity. Schools are in fear of Ofsted - whereas the relationship should be one of respect - and that fear is passed onto the children."
Outward facing buggies are mentioned, suggesting a reason why parents after 1975 are failing to connect with their children. Early communication teaches baby language and the ability to read facial expressions. A family learning co-ordinator is quoted in the article and said, "If an infant is used to not speaking, he or she doesn't know how to listen either. And when you don't listen you don't learn." An inability to read facial expressions was highlighted as a consequence of this, hence insecurities and bullying commencing at an early age in the playground and the beginnings of gang culture.
Other causes suggested in the article by Anthony Seldon included long hours culture, children spending considerable time on computers, a lack of family meals, and parents not talking to their children. Above all, the article emphasised the need for parents to spend time with their children as being a simple yet vital component in growing up.
(Observer, 19.10.07)
Ann Jones is used to getting blank stares. As a primary school teacher
of 20 years' standing, she has seen the communication skills of her classes
deteriorate steadily. "Too many children are starting school lacking basic
language skills," she says. "A simple request such as Go to the cupboard
and get the pencils, please' is met with a blank look. Some of them simply
don't know what I am talking about.
Nursery teachers agree with anecdotal evidence that children are less
verbally advanced than at any time in recent history.
"The hard research evidence isn't there as yet because it hasn't been
done," says Gill Edelman, chief executive of I Can. " But there is a growing
body of opinion among professionals that there are more children than
there used to be with communication difficulties - and boys are three
times more likely to have problems than girls. Early intervention is critical
because by the time they get to primary school they may already have developed
behavioural problems through frustration."
Edelman believes it is vital that parents talk to their babies right
from the beginning. "Most parents do it automatically, but some need encouragement."
Liz Attenborough at the National Literacy Trust agrees and the charity
is running a campaign called Talk To Your Baby. "One professional told
me that, in the old days, you could look around a nursery and highlight
the children with difficulties because they were unusual, but nowadays
it's the other way round - you highlight the children without difficulties."
Blaming television is obvious, but Attenborough thinks it is only part
of the story. Most households are much noisier, with a background din
from a television or radio preventing people from talking to each other.
The family unit is now smaller, with fewer adults around to talk to children,
and busy lives mean that traditional mealtimes are becoming a rare occurrence.
Attenborough also cites the move away from active play to what she calls
solo toys, such as computer games. "Parents feel they have to give their
children expensive presents and don't realist that children would rather
have their time than something flashy."
(Daily Telegraph, 3 April 2004)
The number of children who have speech and language difficulties in day
nurseries across the UK is 'rising fast', according to a survey of nursery
staff.
The results of the survey by I CAN, the charity the helps children who have
speech and language difficulties, in conjunction with Nursery World,
were published at the start of the charity's annual Chatterbox Challenge
initiative. It found that 89 per cent of nursery staff were worried that
speech, language and communication difficulties among pre-school-age children
were growing.
Nursery staff reported more children having problems concentrating, speaking
clearly and following instructions. Children often responded with monosyllabic
answers or gestures rather than appropriate language. Almost all (96 per
cent) of the respondents said they has at least one child with communications
difficulties in their nursery, while 10 per cent said they had at least
10 children with such problems.
Respondents blamed several factors, including a lack of time spent by children
and adults talking together, the use of television to pacify a child and
the trend for parents to talk on behalf of their child instead of letting
the child have a say. Some criticised the use of videos and computers in
the home.
Gill Edelman, I CAN chief executive , said: "Despite the large numbers
of children affected, there is still a low awareness of this hidden disability.
It is imperative that parents and nursery workers understand the integral
role they play. Both are critical in the development of the child. Early
intervention is crucial so that we can ensure that children with speech
and language difficulties have the same opportunities in life as other children."
(Nursery World, 5 February 2004)
Parents who sit their children in front of the television for hours are
being blamed for an alarming rise in the number of youngsters who cannot
speak properly. Adults should turn off the TV and talk more to their children
to encourage verbal skills, according to a speech therapy charity.
Nursery teachers are faced with children who are struggling to develop
their vocabulary, cannot speak clearly and have difficulty understanding
instructions.
A poll by the charity I CAN, which helps children with speech and language
difficulties, showed that 96% of nursery staff had at least one child
with 'communication difficulties' in their care. Of those, 92% blamed
the lack of conversation between adults and children.
More than three quarters of nursery staff said TV was a major factor,
while 64% cited the habit of some parents of talking on behalf of their
children. Ten per cent of those questioned said they had ten or more children
in their classes who had difficulty talking. I CAN chief executive Gill
Edelman said: 'Despite the large numbers of children affected, there is
still a very low awareness of this."
"Early intervention is crucial so that we can ensure that children
with speech and language difficulties have the same opportunities in life
as other children," she added.
(Daily Mail, 2 February 2004)
Children are starting school less well prepared than ever because parents
are failing to raise their youngsters properly, according to David Bell,
the Government's chief inspector of schools.
David Bell told the Sunday Telegraph that too many children were receiving
a "disrupted and dishevelled" upbringing. As a result, the verbal
and behavioural skills of the nation's five-year-olds were at an all-time
low, causing severe difficulties for schools.
Mr Bell said that one of the key causes was the failure of parents to
impose proper discipline at home, which led to poor behaviour in class.
Another serious concern was the tendency to sit children in front of the
television, rather than talking and playing with them. This meant that
many were unable to speak properly when they started school.
"It is difficult to get hard statistical evidence on what is happening
across the country," said Mr Bell, "but if you talk to a lot
of primary head teachers, as I do, they will say that youngsters appear
less well prepared for school than they have ever been before."
Mr Bell, whose comments coincided with the start of the new school year,
said that although classroom standards were rising, parents were still
not doing enough to support teachers.
"There is evidence that children's verbal skills are lacking. We
should encourage parents to talk to their children and give them a whole
range of stimulating things to do and not just assume that the television,
or whatever, will do all that for them."
He added that the deficiencies of pupils starting school could have lasting
effects, particularly where parents continued to fail to offer support
to teachers.
(Sunday Telegraph, 31 August 2003)
The National Literacy Trust and the Royal College of Speech and Language
Therapists responded to David Bell's comments in a joint
press release.
Youngsters aged from three to five will be given lessons on how to speak
and listen properly under government plans to tackle a decline in children's
language skills.
Serious concern was expressed at a recent ministerial meeting about the
growing numbers of pupils starting school unable to talk clearly or pay
attention to the teacher. A decision was made to introduce special tuition.
Education researchers, who blame increased television viewing and the
decline of family conversation for the trend, say that teaching such children
the 3Rs is a waste of time because they have not yet grasped the basics
of language.
Liz Attenborough, the co-ordinator of the Talk to Your Baby campaign,
run by the National Literacy Trust, said: "Unbelievable as it seems, some
children starting nursery do not seem to have ever had a one-to-one conversation
with anyone.
The Department for Education and Skills asked officials from the National
Primary Strategy, the Sure Start Unit and others working in early-years
education to draw up proposals for improving verbal and aural ability.
As a result, an "early language and communication project" is being set
up. This will make the study of speaking and listening a priority in the
classroom. Guidance will be given to teachers and nursery staff on how
to improve children's capabilities in both areas.
One suggestion is that formal education should be postponed for at least
a year for children who lag behind their age group.
A department spokesman confirmed that action to tackle deficiencies in
young children's speaking and listening was being prepared after a government
"think-tank" considered the problem. "The think-tank grew out of a recognition
of widespread concerns about language and communication in pre-school
children," she said. "All those working with the youngest children need
to have the appropriate knowledge and understanding of the development
of language. The aim of the project is to improve that knowledge."
Research published earlier this year by the Government's Basic Skills
Agency found that head teachers believed that - compared with five years
ago - fewer pupils now had basic language skills such as speaking audibly
and talking voluntarily to others. Less than half of those starting school
could recite songs or rhymes.
The findings prompted Alan Wells, the agency's director, to give warning
that a "daily grunt" phenomenon was being created by parents, including
some well-educated, who were not devoting enough time to their children.
He said that an increasing number adopted a "leave it to the school" approach,
which was failing their offspring.
"In some families, parents seem to lack the skills to develop the language
of children," said Mr Wells. "In others, parents with lots of money, but
little time, buy themselves out of giving attention to their children
by using computer games that children play themselves without the interaction
of the parents." Mr Wells said that as well as parental neglect, excessive
television viewing was a cause of the decline in linguistic skills. Other
academics have blamed the use of computers and schools' over-emphasis
on reading and writing at a very early age for some young children's poor
grasp of language.
The I Can charity, which promotes speech and language in children, has
estimated that one in 10 children in Britain struggles to understand what
people are saying and has difficulty conveying thoughts and feelings.
Pressure for changes to teaching methods has been heightened by a recent
Sheffield University study which found that children's language skills
did not necessarily improve once they were in school or nursery.
It disclosed that the speech development of 240 three-year-olds from
deprived areas actually deteriorated after they had attended nursery for
two years. Ann Locke and Jane Ginsborg, the researchers, attributed their
findings to the children's limited exposure to spoken language at home,
but also in their subsequent early-years education.
Under current government guidelines, three- to five-year-olds in schools,
nurseries and playgroups are supposed to reach goals in "communication,
language and literacy".
Very young children are expected to be able to make eye contact and express
themselves with body language. By the time they have reached five, they
should have progressed from simple statements and questions to the ability
to talk to others, initiate conversation, take account of what people
say and take turns in conversation.
However, many teachers and nursery staff are not adequately trained in
speech and language, says Maria Mroz, an early-years researcher at Newcastle
University. "It is clear that talking and playing are not as prominent
as one might wish in developing children's language. Early-years professionals
recognise their responsibility. However, they lack the tools and the knowledge
to assess speech and language development specifically and to identify
delay or disorder."
Liz Attenborough, of the Talk to Your Baby campaign, welcomed the new
government project and said that language was the key to learning and
behaviour.
She added: "Many people believe that if you haven't tackled [language
problems] by the time children start formal school it is too late - or
at least much harder to do anything about."
Nearly 90 per cent of three-year-olds have some state-funded early-years
education and the majority of four-year-olds are in school nurseries.
(Sunday Telegraph, 1 June 2003)
A campaign to persuade parents to chat to children in order to improve
toddlers' speaking skills has received initial backing from government
officials.
Liz Attenborough, former director of the National Year of Reading, is
being funded by the Department for Education and Skills to develop the
Talk To Your Baby campaign for the National Literacy Trust.
The campaign follows a joint survey by the trust and the National Association
of Head Teachers which revealed 74 percent of the 121 heads polled felt
young children's speaking and listening skills had deteriorated in the
past five years.
But fears that toddlers' speaking skills are getting worse are unfounded,
say researchers. A TES investigation of objective evidence has discovered
little to support the view that children begin school less able to listen
and speak than five years ago.
The Pips assessment of child's abilities, developed by Durham University,
shows that childen's abilities, developed by Durham University, shwos
that children's vocabulary and ability to spot rhymes has improved in
the 722 schools which have used the test over the past five years.
Mrs Attenborough said: "Even if language skills have not got worse,
there is certainly room for improvement. There is no question that the
whole communication skills area is incredibly important and the more we
can do to help children develop language and communications skills has
to be good."
(Times Educational Supplement, 31 January 2003)
As part of the National Basic Skills Strategy for Wales, the Basic Skills
Agency commissioned a survey on Welsh headteachers' perceptions of the
communication and linguistic skills of children on entry to education,
and any change over the past five years. They were asked to indicate what
proportion of new entrants could perform a range of activities - for example,
talking voluntarily to others, writing their own name and talking about
story or picture books - in their home language (either English or Welsh).
According to headteachers in English-medium schools, the most widely held
skills on entry included talking voluntarily to others, engaging in a
variety of play situations, making marks in play and speaking audibly
and being understood. These skills were reported as being held by two-thirds
of the children. Headteachers reported that fewer than half the children
chose to look at books and stories, or could recite rhymes, sing songs
or list numbers in order.
In schools where more than half of the children spoke Welsh as a first
language, children appeared to start school with greater interest in early
reading, writing and counting activities. More children chose to look
at books and more could recognise their own name. Their listening skills
were also better. However, the children's speaking skills did not appear
to be as well developed as their peers in English-medium schools.
Most of the headteachers felt that young children's talking and listening
skills had declined over the past five years - particularly the ability
to speak clearly and be understood. When given a list of things parents
could do with their children to develop early literacy skills, there were
three which over 90% of the headteachers classed as "absolutely essential":
talking to their babies and young children, listening and responding to
them, and playing with them.
Alan Wells, director of the Basic Skills Agency, said a lack of family
conversation was to blame for a decline in language skills. He called
for parents to be trained in how to develop their children's skills and
for more support in primary schools to help pupils catch up.
The report is available free (in English and Welsh) from Basic Skills
Agency publications on 0870 600 2400.
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