Communication and Language is a prime area of learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage, meaning it underpins all other areas of development. At The Whiteoak Academies, we prioritise language development throughout the year, but especially in the Autumn term when children are settling into school and building the foundations they need to access the full curriculum.

Our learning environment is deliberately language-rich, ensuring that children are immersed in high-quality talk and vocabulary from the moment they arrive.

What are the expectations by the end of Reception?

By the end of Reception, children are expected to achieve the Early Learning Goals in:

Listening, Attention and Understanding

• Listen attentively and respond to what they hear with relevant questions, comments and actions
• Make comments about what they have heard and ask questions to clarify their understanding
• Hold conversation when engaged in back-and-forth exchanges with their teacher and peers

Speaking

• Participate in small group, class and one-to-one discussions, offering their own ideas
• Offer explanations for why things might happen, making use of recently introduced vocabulary
• Express their ideas and feelings about their experiences using full sentences, including the use of past, present and future tenses

How do we teach Communication and Language at The Whiteoak Academies?

Language development is woven into every part of the school day. Children take part in multiple high-quality interactions with adults and peers, both through structured teaching and play-based learning.

We follow the Lighthouse Schools Partnership (LSP) Literacy curriculum, which uses carefully chosen, high-quality texts to develop vocabulary, storytelling and language skills.

Through our Talk Through Stories approach, children explore a high-quality picture book over a two-week period. This includes:

• Explicit teaching of new vocabulary in context
• Opportunities for discussion and questioning
• Role play and drama activities
• Oral rehearsal of ideas before writing

All activities are carefully planned to maximise language development. Staff are provided with clear prompts linked to each activity, including ambitious vocabulary, key questions and potential misconceptions. This ensures that interactions are purposeful and that adults are consistently supporting and extending children’s language through high-quality discussion.

Practitioners play a key role in developing language. They:

• Model ambitious vocabulary in every interaction
• Extend children’s sentences and ideas through skilled questioning
• Rephrase and build on children’s language to deepen understanding
• Provide regular opportunities for children to practise and apply new vocabulary

We also use approaches such as oral composition, drama activities and weekly picture prompts (e.g. ‘I wonder… I think… I know…’) to encourage children to articulate their ideas clearly.

What does this look like in practice?

Children are immersed in language through a wide range of daily experiences, including:

• Daily story times, rhymes, poems and songs
• Talk Through Stories sessions
• Adult-led small group discussions and language activities
• Circle times and structured talk opportunities
• Listening games and memory activities
• Phase One phonics
• Welly Walks and first-hand outdoor experiences
• Continuous opportunities for conversation during play and provision

These experiences ensure that children hear, use and apply new vocabulary across all areas of learning.

Impact

As a result of our language-rich environment and carefully planned curriculum, children develop strong communication skills. They become confident speakers, attentive listeners and are able to express their thoughts, ideas and feelings clearly.

These skills provide the foundation for success across the curriculum and support children in becoming confident, independent learners.

Supporting Every Child

We recognise that children develop language at different rates. Where additional support is needed, we provide targeted interventions to ensure all children make strong progress.

We use Talk Boost (a tailored speech and language programme) for children who would benefit from additional communication support. Our school also benefits from access to a Speech and Language Therapist, supporting children with identified speech and language needs.

We work closely with our Woodlands Speech and Language resource base team who provide us with advice and external professionals to ensure timely and effective support. Staff receive regular training to support all learners.