As part of the LIVELY project, members of the team have developed four CPD sessions that are available on the LIVELY website. These are still available and can be accessed by you or your colleagues. We know some schools have watched these as part of group training sessions. The CPD sessions are open access so are available for anyone to watch.
Below are the four CPD sessions available:
- Promoting robust language development for children in the Early Years Setting – Professor Cristina McKean
The development of robust language in the early years is vital for successful transition into school. The role of early years classrooms in promoting robust language development through the provision of language rich environments cannot be over-stated. The sessions will focus on defining and describing characteristics of language rich early years classrooms; sharing experiences of best practice in providing language rich experiences and considering how to develop and implement a language enrichment strategy.
- Language disorder in a bilingual context – Dr Sean Pert
https://research.ncl.ac.uk/lively/newsevents/cpdsession2bilingualcontext/
Bilingual children are no more or less likely to present with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). However, children who speak other languages at home are often over- or underrepresented on speech and language therapy caseloads. How can we tell if a child is having difficulty acquiring speech and language skills or just needs more time to learn English? This session will explore bilingualism, myths about bilingual language acquisition, language disorder in a bilingual context and best practice when working with bilingual families.
- Phonological Awareness. What comes before letters and sounds: getting children ready for phonics – Dr Helen Stringer
https://research.ncl.ac.uk/lively/newsevents/cpdsession3phonologicalawareness/
Phonological awareness (PA) is a crucial skill that underpins speech, vocabulary and literacy. Early syllable level stages of PA acquisition are required before children can progress to phoneme level skills (and phonics). Children who have difficulty acquiring PA skills will always have difficulty unless given help. It is never too late for children to learn PA skills. Children with good PA skills will have better vocabulary skills and learn to read more easily. These sessions will explore what is PA, how to assess PA and different types of PA intervention.
- Using technology to support language and communication in the early years – Dr Christine Jack
https://research.ncl.ac.uk/lively/newsevents/cpdsession4usingtechnology/
Educational technology can help to support language and communication, if it is used effectively. Practitioners need to decide what is appropriate for their children, their context and the content they are trying to teach. This session talks about how to decide what technology is appropriate and provides some examples of devices and applications practitioners may like to try.
Authors: Emily Preston, Christine Jack, Cristina McKean, Sean Pert, Helen Stringer