Children and families will benefit from better joined‑up speech,
language and communication support from the earliest stages
of life under a newly launched national Action Plan.
The Early Years Speech, Language and Communication Action
Plan aims to strengthen collaborative support across health,
education, and family support services.
Clear, practical advice on speech, language and communication
will be targeted to families in disadvantaged communities, where
children are more than three times as likely to have
communication challenges. This will be done through universal
services such as health visiting, the Baby Box, and Bookbug.
Professional learning for practitioners in health and early years
settings will also be enhanced to help them deliver better
support for families.
Children's Minister Natalie Don‑Innes said:
“We are determined to ensure that all children get the best
possible start in life. Strong communication skills underpin
every aspect of a child's development – from building
relationships and emotional wellbeing to educational success and
future opportunities – yet too many children, particularly those
growing up in poverty, face avoidable challenges.
“By focusing on prevention, empowering families with the right
support at the right time, and further enhancing workforce
skills, we can transform outcomes, close the developmental gap
that disproportionately affects children in poverty, and enable
every child to reach their fullest potential.”
The National Plan sits alongside ‘Chatting Together' guidance,
hosted on Parent Club, an online information hub offering advice
for parents and carers. These are practical tips developed by
speech and language experts with input from parents to help lead
conversations with children from a very young age.
Staff at Ferryfield Nursery in Alexandria have embedded the
‘Chatting Together' guidance into daily practice, to steer
interactions with children and share ideas with parents about how
to nurture speech and language at home.
Principal Officer at Ferryfield Early Learning and Childcare
Centre Debbie Moore-Gilmartin said:
“Families have really enjoyed the home learning opportunities
provided to promote language development and have benefitted from
taking part in the family engagement sessions.
“Feedback from practitioners and parents has been very positive
about these early messages about language and communication
development.”
Head of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists'
Scotland Office Carter said:
“We welcome this plan from the Scottish Government, which
recognises that communication is the fundamental building block
for children to connect, play, learn, and access work later in
life.
“Speech and language therapists understand just how critical
early communication support is for children as well as the
incredible difference close collaboration across communities
makes. We look forward to working with the government, parents,
carers, and partners to give Scotland's children the best start
in life.”
Background
The Early Years Speech,
Language and Communication Action Plan builds on two
years of work by the National Early Language and Communication
team and advice from the National Speech, Language and
Communication Stakeholder Reference Group. The Action Plan
supports the Programme for Government 2025–26 commitment to
reduce developmental concerns at age 27–30 months by a quarter by
2030, and wider national efforts to improve early child
development, tackle child poverty and address inequalities.
Top tips for chatting
together with your child | Parent Club
In 2023-24, 19.4% of
children in the most deprived areas had a recorded speech,
language and communication concern at the 27–30 month review,
compared to 6.1% in the least deprived areas.
Responsibility for delivery of the new Plan is jointly held by
the Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise; the
Minister for Public Health and Women's Health; and the Minister
for Social Care and Mental Wellbeing.
