At Edith Kerrison, we believe that language is the foundation of everything. This week, our Nursery was buzzing with energy as parents joined us for our Talk, Read, Play session. It was a wonderful opportunity to bridge the gap between school and home, focusing on how we can work together to boost our children’s communication and literacy.
Voices from our Community
One of the highlights of the morning was hearing directly from our parents about their own learning journeys:
• The Power of Connection: One parent made a heart-warming observation about the bond between the children and our staff. They noted how much the children clearly love the practitioners because they take the time to truly talk and play with them. By showing genuine interest in the children’s thoughts, ideas, and feelings, our staff create a safe “emotional base” where children feel confident to speak and explore.
• The Power of Home Language: We had a fantastic discussion with one of our parents about the importance of continuing to use their home language of Romanian. It was a great moment to reinforce that a strong foundation in a native language is a gift; it provides the cognitive building blocks that actually make it easier for children to acquire English later on.
• “Comment more, question less: Another parent shared how much they had gained from the Little Voices, Big Talk programme at Edith Kerrison. They spoke about the “lightbulb moment” of moving away from asking constant questions (which can sometimes feel like a test for a child) and instead focusing on commenting on what the child is doing. This simple shift takes the pressure off the child and creates a much more natural flow of conversation.
The Magic of “Shared Attention”
The room was filled with “shared attention”—those magic moments where adults and children focus on a task together. Our staff were on hand to model the ShREC approach (Share attention, Respond, Expand, Conversation), showing how simple play can turn into a rich language lesson.
We also tackled some practical “early years” myths. When a parent expressed concern about scissor safety, staff were able to demonstrate how well the child handled them, explaining how supervised “risky play” builds fine motor skills and confidence. We also looked at how large-scale mark-making (like big chalk drawings) builds the shoulder strength needed for writing.
