This National Literacy Trust report summarises the findings Early Words with Childminders programme which provided evidence-based training for childminders to increase their understanding of children’s communication and language development.
The programme provided practitioners with training and a bank of carefully designed resources that include full session plans for 6 weekly sessions, as well as advice and activity cards to facilitate parents’ engagement.
The training focused on equipping childminders with the skills needed to implement language-building activities in their settings and coach parents on supporting development at home.
All childminders involved in the programme expressed that the training had a significant impact on their understanding of language development. They felt confident in applying their learning with children and delivering the new sessions with ease. Additionally, the childminders shared that they were prepared to help parents feel more capable of fostering language growth through parent coaching sessions.
When it came to programme delivery, most childminders found the lesson plans manageable. However, many chose to adapt the frequency of the activities or spread them out over the course of the day. The biggest challenge was engaging parents face-to-face during drop-off or pick-up times, as many parents were often rushing and short on time.