Communication and Language
At Beech Green, we recognise that communication and language underpin all areas of learning. Developing children's ability to listen, understand, speak and communicate their ideas is fundamental to their success, both in Reception and throughout their school journey. We therefore place a strong emphasis on creating a language-rich environment where children are encouraged to talk, listen, ask questions, explain their thinking and develop the confidence to communicate with others.
Supporting Speech and Language Development
We recognise the importance of identifying speech and language needs as early as possible. We listen carefully to concerns raised by parents and carers and as we get to know the children, we use our observations and assessments to identify children who may benefit from additional support.
We also use WellComm to help us identify children who may have speech and language development needs. In addition, we work with The Speech Den, providing additional specialist support to help us identify appropriate targets and put strategies in place as quickly as possible.
Our aim is to ensure that children receive the right support at the earliest opportunity, enabling them to develop their communication skills and participate fully in learning and social experiences.
We place a strong emphasis on oracy and vocabulary development. We want children to become confident communicators who can express their thoughts, feelings and ideas clearly and listen respectfully to others.
We deliberately introduce children to new and interesting words, helping them to understand what they mean and use them in their own conversations and learning. Adults model rich language throughout the day and give children lots of opportunities to hear, practise and use new words in meaningful situations.
Our adults use shared attention within interactions to extend children's thinking and language. Rather than simply asking questions and providing answers, we join children in their play and conversations, listen carefully, respond to their ideas, introduce new vocabulary and encourage them to elaborate and explain. By following the child's lead and showing genuine interest, adults help children feel connected and supported in their learning.
Developing a Love of Reading
A huge focus at Beech Green is developing a lifelong love of reading. We share a wide range of high-quality stories, poems and rhymes with the children and provide many opportunities for children to talk about, enjoy and respond to books.
Our Read Write Inc. phonics programme supports children as they develop the skills they need to become successful readers. Reception is an exciting year in which children make remarkable progress – moving from beginning to hear sounds within words and recognise corresponding letters and sounds, to blending sounds together to read words and developing the confidence to read words and sentences.
We want children to experience the joy and excitement of becoming readers, whilst understanding that reading is about more than decoding words. We develop children's comprehension, vocabulary and understanding alongside their phonics knowledge so that they can talk about, understand and enjoy what they read.
Early Writing
At Beech Green, we recognise that becoming a writer is an exciting journey. Children develop their early writing skills through a combination of phonics, purposeful writing opportunities and creative experiences.
As children learn their sounds through Read Write Inc., they begin to use their phonic knowledge to write words and sentences. They have opportunities to write sentences dictated by an adult, carefully listening to the sentence, remembering it and applying the sounds they know to record the words.
Within our continuous provision there are frequent opportunities for child-initiated mark making and writing for a real purpose. Children choose when, why and what they want to write within their play. This might include, for example, making a shopping list or writing a sign. This helps children to understand that writing is a meaningful way to communicate their ideas. We also value the freedom, imagination and creativity of writing. Through ‘Drawing Club’, children are inspired by stories, characters and imaginative worlds, giving them opportunities to develop their own ideas, draw and write without being restricted to a particular outcome. Drawing Club encourages children to see themselves as writers developing their confidence, vocabulary, imagination and love of writing alongside their growing phonic knowledge.