Communication and Language in the Early Years

The development of children’s spoken language underpins all seven areas of learning and development. Children’s back-and-forth interactions from an early age form the foundations for language and cognitive development. The number and quality of the conversations they have with adults and peers throughout the day in a language-rich environment is crucial. By commenting on what children are interested in or doing, and echoing back what they say with new vocabulary added, practitioners will build children's language effectively. Reading frequently to children, and engaging them actively in stories, non-fiction, rhymes and poems, and then providing them with extensive opportunities to use and embed new words in a range of contexts, will give children the opportunity to thrive. Through conversation, storytelling and role play, where children share their ideas with support and modelling from their teacher, and sensitive questioning that invites them to elaborate, children become comfortable using a rich range of vocabulary and language structures.

At Kingston Park we like to invite parents into school to find out how we teach these essentials skills and how parents can support at home too.  

Please take a look at our recent presentation.

Phonics in Nursery 

Here at Kingston Park Primary School phonics is taught as part of a broad and rich curriculum that engages children in a range of activities and experiences to develop their reading, writing and spelling.  We follow the 'Little Wandle Letters and Sounds' programme as a systematic scheme. It is taught daily in discrete 20 minute sessions and phonics knowledge and skills are reinforced and applied across the curriculum. 

In Nursery we use the Foundations for Phonics.  

Pupils will be taught to:  

• Develop speaking and listening skills.  

• Developing language and vocabulary.  

• Explore environmental sounds, instrumental sound, body percussion, rhythm and rhyme, alliteration, voice sounds, oral blending and segmenting.  

• Develop curiosity about letters and sounds through classroom phonics areas.  

• Develop their phonological awareness, so that they can: - spot and suggest rhymes - count or clap syllables in words - recognise words with the same initial sound, such as ‘money and mother’ 

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As part of our phonics sessions, we learn 20 nursery rhymes over the course of the year.  You can access these videos at home too. 

Click on the link to get singing!