Over 6,500 schools have signed up for a programme to boost early
language skills among Reception age children, with training
provided for more than 22,000 staff.
The multi-million pound ‘catch up’ programme is set to raise
outcomes in speaking and language skills for young pupils whose
communication may have suffered as a result of missed time in
education during the pandemic.
Interest in the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) has
exceeded its initial targets of having one quarter of primary
schools in England involved, with 33% already successfully
registered. The programme now aims to reach around 40% of primary
schools this academic year, backed by a £9 million investment. It
is targeted at those pupils who need help most, with schools
allocated places in priority order based on the proportion of
disadvantaged pupils eligible for Free School Meals.
Pre-Reception children are also set to benefit from improved
support as the Department for Education’s £20 million Early Years
Professional Development Programme (EYPDP) moves into its second
phase, deploying around 400 newly-trained early years ‘champions’
who have already been trained to share their skills, knowledge
and behaviours with other staff in 51 local authorities to boost
children’s development in early language, literacy and
mathematics.
Children and Families Minister said:
No child should fall behind as a result of lost learning time,
especially in the crucial early years of their education. I’m
so pleased to see thousands of schools sign up to this package
of support to help our youngest children get back on track.
We want every child to thrive as they progress through school,
which is why it’s vital we provide extra support in this
challenging time to equip them with the important early
language skills to express themselves clearly and effectively.
Nuffield Early Language Intervention will run as a 20-week
intervention for pupils from February 2020. Schools will be
provided with training and resources, free of charge, helping
them deliver one-to-one and small-group support for
five-year-olds whose early development in spoken language skills
has been disrupted by Covid-19.
The investment is part of the National Tutoring Programme, a key
part of the Government’s £1 billion Covid catch-up package
announced in June, to directly tackle the impact of lost teaching
time.
Josh Hillman, Director of Education at the Nuffield Foundation
said:
The fact that one third of primary schools in England have
already enrolled on the Nuffield Early Language Intervention
(NELI) shows the significant demand for a programme to support
disadvantaged children in their language skills, particularly
in light of the lost learning due to COVID-19.
Having supported the development and trialling of NELI to
provide evidence of its effectiveness we are delighted that the
DfE has increased its target for the number of participating
schools. Even more of the most disadvantaged children will be
able to acquire the foundations of literacy and learning in
this challenging school year.
Alongside the Nuffield programme, the Department has also
confirmed that around 400 early years practitioners have
completed high quality training to boost their skills in
supporting young children’s early language, literacy and
mathematics development in 51 local authorities, as part of its
Early Years Professional Development Programme, first launched in
2018.
The Professional Development Programme is being led by the
Education Development Trust who have designed the programme to
ensure a large number of practitioners are able to learn and
share excellent practice in early years language and literacy
skills development.
The drive to help people gain professional skills builds on an
announcement last week that the Government will fully-fund almost
400 courses for adults without a full qualification at Level 3
(A-level equivalent) from April 2021, including childcare and
early learning courses for those wishing to enter or upskill
within the early years sector.
During the pandemic, the Government has provided significant
financial support to provide stability and reassurance for the
early years sector – including paying local authorities for the
autumn term for childcare places at the level we would have
funded before coronavirus – regardless of how many children are
attending.
Following the extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme,
early years staff remain eligible to access this as they have
been since its introduction. The Job Support Scheme has been
postponed until the furlough scheme ends. Working parents on
these schemes will still remain eligible for childcare support,
including the 30 hours offer and Tax-Free Childcare, even if
their income levels fall below the minimum threshold requirement.
