Being able to communicate is a skill we all take for granted but as a child, a world where you can’t tell people what you want or need is a frustrating place. After many years supporting families with young children, we recognised the impact delays in communication can have on a child’s well-being, their social skills and their relationships with family members.
Since the pandemic, there has been wide recognition of the lost learning experienced by the early years. Children, who would have had the opportunity to spend time with other adults and their peers in different forms of play, were isolated. At a critical time in their development, they were denied the richly stimulating activities that nourish their language skills.
In 2021, we designed the Hello Project, an Early Year’s Communication Project alongside speech and language professionals. The aim of the project is to provide children with environments that promote speech, language and communication. Volunteers have been trained to support families in the home and in a group setting, so parents understand how children learn language and what they can do to help them to communicate.
The project, which is now in it’s third and final year has been a huge success. The evidence is clear, children make good progress when they have opportunities to play and practice their communication skills in the right environment. They are less frustrated and more ready for school, making the transition to their first education setting easier.
We are hugely grateful to the Big Lottery and the Shanly Foundation for making year three of this project possible. You can read more about the success of year two here.