Llyr Gruffydd, Plaid Cymru’s North Wales AM, leads a debate in the Senedd today on the importance of speech and language skills to children as they develop and deal with adult life. Here he considers the issue as he encourages wider discussion in Wales...
T’S striking how children’s lack of opportunities in early years affects them in later life. Many of us who are privileged to receive a good education all too readily take reading, writing and oral skills for granted.
Others, however, are not so fortunate. The stark reality is that, as a nation, we underestimate the value of speech and language to individuals as they progress to adulthood.
Working with experts from the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists has made me realise that good language skills must be central to a child’s early-years’ development. These are the basic building blocks as they begin their formal education at school. Language skills play a crucial role in a child’s ability to achieve their educational potential, their social mobility, and their life chances.
A minority of children will never develop the language skills appropriate for their age, but the majority will get there with the right support. Research shows there’s a strong link between poverty and early language delay.
I make no apologies for raising this issue so soon after the publication of the Childcare, Early Years and Play workforce plan in December and the announcement by the Cabinet Secretary for Education of the Time to Talk, Play and Listen campaign in January. In my view, this is exactly the right time to raise speech and language issues in Wales.
Children’s poor speech, language and communication skills have a profound impact on a wide range of outcomes including behaviour and mental health, a child’s ability to start school successfully and future employability.
The Flying Start programme in Wales has prioritised speech, language and communication from the outset, with experts brought in to ensure guidance documents are in place.
Every Flying Start team has a dedicated speech and language therapist to train the workforce and improve parents’ knowledge and skills to support children’s early language development.
THE RESEARCH
While much more investment is needed by the Welsh Government, and while concerns persist about the narrow geographical focus of the programme, there are positive outcomes. In Bridgend, for example, 73% of the 600 children screened on starting nursery were assessed as having significant language delays. After interventions by speech and language therapists to upskill nursery staff in the area, more than twothirds of the children with the worst language delay had improved.
With these kinds of positive outcomes, why is the Welsh Government cutting speech and language therapist Flying Start services?
We already know that the strongest influence on children’s early language skills are their parents and carers.
Poverty can strongly reduce parents’ ability to respond to their child’s early language needs and offer a home learning environment that enhances language skills in early years. Supporting parents to foster a language-rich home environment is fundamental to improving children’s early speech development.
Beyond the home, evidence shows the benefits of high-quality earlyyears childcare. Early-years practitioners have a crucial role in supporting children’s development. They share the early learning and skills that provide the foundation for school readiness. The early-years workforce is vital in closing the language gap between children from high- and lower-income families, which begins in infancy.
Looking beyond training, early language development needs to be mainstreamed; considered as part of inspection regimes to reflect progress in speech, language and communication. In Northern Ireland, a strategic post has been created to ensure a cross-cutting approach to early language development across portfolios. This needs to be done here in Wales too.
It is vital that we do more to ensure that children develop strong language skills by the time they start school and ensure this area has sufficient focus and investment.