Words First Ltd

Speech is not just about being understood. It also plays an important role in language development, and learning to read and spell. 🗣️📖

✨ How speech difficulties can affect language development: Children learn language through listening, understanding, and practicing spoken words. If a child has speech difficulties, it can be harder for them to clearly produce sounds and words, which may reduce their confidence in talking and limit opportunities to practice language skills. This can affect the development of vocabulary, sentence structure, and social communication, as children may avoid speaking or may not always be understood by others.

✨How speech difficulties can affect literacy development: Learning to read and spell relies heavily on recognising and being able to accurately produce speech sounds. Children who have difficulty producing or distinguishing sounds may find it harder to link sounds to letters, which can impact phonics, and make reading accuracy and spelling more challenging. They may also need more time and support to develop awareness of sounds within words (known as phonological awareness), an important foundation for early literacy skills.

✨How teachers can support speech difficulties in the classroom:

- Give children plenty of time to talk. Allow extra time for responses and avoid finishing words or sentences for them. This helps build confidence and encourages communication.

- Model correct speech naturally. If a child says a word incorrectly, repeat it back correctly in your response without asking them to copy you. For example, if a child says “tat” for “cat”, you might say, “Yes, it’s a cat.”

- Sound out the words FOR the child. If teachers sound out the word for the child, it reduces the speech demands of the task and allows the child to focus on recognising the sounds and accurately linking them to letters.

Small changes in the way we support speech can have a lasting impact on language and literacy development.

Language is at the heart of everything we do. It is the foundation for learning, friendships, reading, writing and confidence. 💬📚

Around 2 children in every classroom have Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), yet many go unnoticed. There is an enormous overlap between language difficulties, speech sound difficulties and literacy difficulties - so when you notice someone is struggling with talking or reading, think language!

Swipe through to discover:

✨ Why vocabulary matters for reading comprehension
✨ The best words to pre-teach across the curriculum
✨ How language, speech and literacy are closely connected
✨ What to look out for if a child is struggling

Next in our Team Leader Day series, we'd like to introduce Lisa's team, The Banana Velvets 2.0! 🍌

Inspired by the iconic banana artwork created by Andy Warhol for The Velvet Underground, the team chose the name because they felt it reflected who they are: unique, vibrant, and full of personality.

Like all of our Team Leader Days, the focus was on bringing people together, sharing ideas, and strengthening the relationships that support great interdisciplinary working.

One of the highlights of the day was welcoming new team members and guests through a game of "Find Somebody Who...". It was a simple but effective way to get everyone talking, helping the team learn more about one another and build new connections.

The team also took time to celebrate some exciting personal milestones over cupcakes, including an upcoming wedding and a growing family. 🧁

It's these opportunities to connect, celebrate one another, and share experiences that make Team Leader Days such an important part of life at Words First.

Thank you to Lisa and The Banana Velvets 2.0 for a fantastic Team Leader Day!

As we continue our Team Leader Day series, we'd like to introduce Kerry, who has been leading the team while Erantia enjoys maternity leave.

The team chose their name during a Words First Conference because it reflected what they wanted their team to be about: unity, collaboration, togetherness, and supporting one another.

One of the highlights from their recent Team Leader Day was a baby photo guessing game, where everyone had to identify which childhood photo belonged to which team member. There were plenty of laughs along the way, and it was a great way for team members to learn a little more about each other's backgrounds and experiences.

The day also featured some excellent homemade muffins, baked and decorated by Lina. We also had a surprise Teams call from Erantia, and it was so lovely for everyone to catch up with her while she's on maternity leave.

One of the benefits of Team Leader Days is having the time and space to get to know colleagues beyond day-to-day work. Bringing therapists together from across disciplines helps strengthen relationships, share ideas, and support the collaborative way we work at Words First.

Thank you to Kerry and the team for a lovely day!

One of the best things about Team Leader Days is seeing the different personalities, interests, and traditions that make each team unique.

As we continue our series, we're introducing the people behind our teams and sharing a few highlights from their recent get-togethers.

Next up: Nic's team, Team Doodles (Mk 2)! 🎨

The team's name has its roots in one of the very first Team Leader meetings, where they discovered a shared love of art and creativity.

After exploring a few artistic name ideas, the team put them to a vote and Doodles came out on top. When it came time to review the name the following year, the team voted to keep it, making Team Doodles (Mk 2) official!

The name couldn't be much more appropriate for Nic, who is a big fan of the artist Mr Doodle and even has a pair of Lucy & Yak doodle-print dungarees.

One of the highlights of their recent Team Leader Day was celebrating some wonderful personal news, with team member Ros sharing that she had got engaged! 💍

The team also enjoyed having Brigitta join them to support the next stage of our new systems, providing an opportunity to learn together, ask questions, and continue developing the way they work.

Whether celebrating milestones, sharing expertise, or simply spending time together, Team Leader Days help strengthen the relationships that underpin great interdisciplinary practice.

Thank you to Nic and Team Doodles for another fantastic day!