BEST PRACTICE
A WellComm approach to supporting early communication
The Alliance’s Alison Heseltine outlines how the WellComm toolkit can support the early identification of language delay
Alison is an early years development manager, specialising in communication and language, wellbeing, and baby and toddler groups.
While we all know how important speech, language and communication is to a child’s overall development and outcomes, as emphasised by the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), many of us are likely to have witnessed the difficulties that some children experience.
Speech and Language UK’s 2023 report Listening to unheard children found that “for the two million children who struggle to talk and understand words, their whole lives are affected”. The charity’s research highlighted some worrying trends for children struggling with communication, including being:
■ six times more likely to be behind in English at age 11
■ eleven times more likely to be behind in maths at age 11
■ more likely to struggle with their mental health
■ twice as likely to be unemployed as an adult
So how can we identify and support these children and ensure that they get the help they need?
WellComm
Many of you will be familiar with the WellComm Early Years universal screening and assessment tool. It is used by early years educators, teachers, speech and language therapists and SENCOs for the crucial early identification of language and communication difficulties.
The tool was developed by a small team of speech and language therapists at Sandwell & West Birmingham Hospitals Trust and includes everything you need to assess a child’s use and understanding of language. It supports children within early years provision and in the home through the activities in The Big Book of Ideas.
The user-friendly assessment only takes 10-15 minutes to complete, with flexibility to split this across several shorter sessions if needed. It uses a traffic light system that is easy to read and will form the basis of planning the next steps for the child or cohort of children.
Other than a few readily available resources, the toolkit has everything you need including a handbook, a picture book and The Big Book of Ideas, as well as score sheets and administration guidance.
While it is not an evidence-based intervention (EBI) programme, the toolkit is designed to assess and support children's speech and language development, providing a structured and consistent approach to identifying needs. It can therefore support the implementation of interventions such as Early Talk Boost and Early Words Together.
We cannot ignore the long-term impact that communication struggles have on a child’s development and mental wellbeing. By implementing an accessible screening tool like WellComm, educators and parents can identify difficulties and ensure every child receives the support they need.
Funded by the Department of Education (DfE), the Alliance has a limited number of WellComm tools to give away, along with the opportunity to attend a free training session to support their use. The training will need to be completed by at least one member of staff prior to the toolkit being sent.
All we ask in return is for you to share your feedback with us, including how you have used the tool, how it has supported your practice and the impact it’s had on your children and families.
To register your interest, please complete the form at: tinyurl.com/U5-Wellcomm. The kits will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. If you are successful, a member of the team will be in touch to arrange the delivery and training.
Your feedback
“As a setting, we have found the WellComm toolkit so helpful and impactful. Being introduced to it has made so much difference to our practice, particularly with communication and language development in our children. The assessment of the children is quite easy and user-friendly. Staff members can assess the children to identify what level or stage of language development they are at.
“The activities suggested in the toolkit are very helpful in guiding us on what to do with the children, what resources to get (with most being everyday objects) and what words to encourage while we work with them. These make the job easier because the readily available ideas can be followed or adjusted to meet the needs of the children.
“It has supported our parent partnership as we send copies of work pages from the toolkit home with parents for continuous support of the children. Our children are making noticeable development in their understanding, speaking and communication.
“Thank you for making WellComm accessible to our setting.”
Manager
“Just wanted to share that WellComm particularly helped us with what to do after the screening. The Big Book of Ideas helped us to plan tailored activities to help the children develop those skills they found difficult in the screening. For example, we noticed that several children found it difficult to identify opposites and group together objects according to their characteristics. Therefore, we provided more of those activities.”
Early years assistant manager
“We used the WellComm toolkit in our setting and found it invaluable in building up a picture of each of our children’s communication and language development – not just the areas that they might need some extra support, but also the areas where they were doing well. We chose to screen the whole cohort, and this highlighted areas for development on an individual and group basis. For example, we found that as a cohort the children were unsure of prepositions. We then used The Big Book of Ideas for activities that everyone could get involved with and extended the learning into the home-learning environment too.”
Early years educator
Under 5 magazine
The magazine of the Early Years Alliance