Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to improve early language development.

Communication and language development forms one of the three prime areas for learning and development in the Early Years Foundation Stage statutory framework.

It involves giving children opportunities to experience a rich language environment in order to develop their confidence and skills in expressing themselves, and to speak and listen in a range of situations. Parents have an essential role to play in their child’s development and we recognise that some parents may need support in knowing how to help their children. The ‘What to expect, when? A parents’ guide’ illustrates various activities that parents can use to help their children’s language development from birth to five-years old. This can be found at:

http://www.foundationyears.org.uk/2015/03/what-to-expect-when-a-parents-guide/

The Early Yeas Foundation Stage Profile (EYFSP) results show year on year improvements in children’s level of development at the end of the reception year. It is expected that by the end of reception children will be able to express themselves effectively, showing awareness of listeners’ needs. In 2016, the EYFSP results showed that in speaking 85.1% of the children reached the expected level of development. This compares with 78% in 2013.