17 hours Ago By Holly Bancroft
Children are increasingly starting primary school struggling to communicate, teachers have warned. In a new survey, nine in ten primary school teachers said that children’s speech and language issues have worsened since 2020. Teachers have been noticing declining school preparedness in young children since the pandemic, with some unable to answer to their own names or go to the toilet by themselves.
Three-quarters of teachers surveyed said that parents are often in denial about any speech and language issues their children may have. The findings come as a coalition of early years charities and organisations publish a list of things children should be able to do before they arrive at reception. Felicity Gillespie, director of charity Kindred Squared, said there is a “deeply worrying gap between what teachers expect children starting in reception to be able to handle from day one when compared with what parents say their children are able to do.
” The list, published on Tuesday, includes being able to use cutlery, using the toilet by themselves, being able to share toys, recognising their own names, brushing their teeth twice a day, and hanging coats on pegs. The group, which includes Parentkind, the Confederation of Schools Trusts, and the Early Years Alliance, also suggests that reception-age children should be able to pay attention for short periods of time, talk about their feelings, be active for at least three hours a day and they recommend limited screen time. The proposals have been backed by the education secretary Bridget Phillipson, who said: “This new resource will be a vital tool for parents as they navigate the myriad information out there to support their child’s early development”.
Separately, a YouGov survey of over 1,000 teachers commissioned by assessment provider GL Assessment revealed on Tuesday that teachers are worried about reception children’s ability to speak and communicate. Of the nearly 600 primary school educators included, 44 per cent said up to one in five children are struggling to communicate at the expected level for their age. A further 37 per cent said up to two in five children are in this situation.
Primary school teachers blamed lack of conversation with parents and family as a driver for this decline, with 58 per cent listing this as a factor. 44 per cent also listed increased time spent online or on social media as being behind the problems, and 34 per cent said the pandemic had made language skills worse. Of the secondary school teachers surveyed, time on social media and a decline in reading outside of school were the two most common factors contributing to a decline in language skills.
Geoff Barton, former general secretary of headteachers’ union ASCL and chair of the Oracy Commission, said the survey results underlined the importance of talking skills. “Language, in all its forms, matters. And in an age when everyone is cross about everything, high quality talk and active listening have never mattered more.
We don’t want children to be victims who are ‘lost for words’. We want to give them agency in their learning, a voice in their future.” Ms Gillespie, director at Kindred Squared, added that they want to see the new list for school readiness to be adopted by every local authority, primary school, and childcare setting in the UK, as well as by parents and carers.
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