In the United Kingdom, education settings are encouraged to implement a graduated approach to support children's early speech, language and communication development. Whilst there is evidence of effectiveness for some universal and targeted interventions, there is little evidence related to the whole graduated model. This study focuses on the impact of implementing a Speech and Language Therapist (SLT) supported multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) on the language skills (specifically receptive vocabulary) of 409 children aged 3 to 5 years, in comparison to a business-as-usual (BAU) model over 2 years of Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) education. Longitudinal multi-level modelling was used to examine progress over time and showed that inclusion in this MTSS for three terms resulted in statistically significant improvements in receptive vocabulary compared to BAU (monthly improvement of .82 standard score points, p<0.001). After just one term, children with the lowest receptive vocabulary scores showed significant improvements of 2.10 (p < 0.05) standard score points per month compared to control children (BAU), steadily closing the vocabulary gap. The universal tier of the MTSS facilitates greater receptive vocabulary improvement than the control condition, providing strong evidence of the importance of the universal tier as more than simply ‘business-as-usual’. This highlights the importance of SLTs working in collaboration with EYFS staff to actively support the implementation and normalisation of changed classroom practice at the universal tier and the embedding of appropriate targeted tier interventions.
Communication is a human right for all; including children with speech, language and communication needs and those who speak/sign non-dominant languages. As communication specialists, we enhance the ‘voice’ of children in two ways. We enhance children's capacity to communicate, and we enable children the ‘right to freedom of expression … regardless of frontiers’ (Article 13 United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child). This paper provides examples of listening to children with diverse communication abilities and shows we have creatively engaged in child-friendly methods to provide children space and voice. Children frequently depict their supportive communicative partners with ‘large listening ears’; however, this paper encourages us to mature in our practices to listen to children. As communication specialists, we also have the power to assist others to listen; that is, to provide children audience and influence. As we become accustomed to including children's perspectives in our professional practice, this paper encourages us to reflect on whether we listen to children superficially or use our large listening ears to provide children the opportunity for action based on their insights. How can we mature in our practices to enhance all children's participation within democratic processes in their families, schools, communities and society? We need to have large listening ears; employ a variety of sources (Mosaic approach); involve children's participation throughout the research process, and facilitate their capacity to influence the world. This paper was based on the Child Language Teaching and Therapy (CLTT) 2024 Summer Lecture and has been updated by integrating papers from the CLTT special issue titled ‘Listening to children with diverse communication abilities' (2026, volume 42).
Shared book reading (SBR) is an evidence-based approach that promotes language and emergent literacy development. Though widely studied globally, research from India remains limited and has largely concentrated on typically developing children. This study aimed to develop a structured SBR intervention module for Malayalam-speaking children (3–5 years) with language disorders using a three-round Delphi survey with 20 experienced speech-language pathologists. Experts provided input on training mode, frequency, book selection, emergent literacy domains, and fidelity measures. Consensus supported in-person training with 12 sessions delivered twice weekly, and the combined use of logbooks and video recordings to ensure the fidelity of implementation. Culturally relevant storybooks with rich illustrations and minimal text were preferred. Target areas included print conventions, word and letter discrimination, rhyme, and word awareness. The finalized SBR module integrates dialogic reading, print referencing, and phonological awareness strategies, offering a culturally adapted early intervention model for children with language disorders in India.
Collaboration between teachers and school-based speech-language therapists (SLTs) is essential to high-quality universal tier-1 practices that support children's language and literacy skills in inclusive settings. Trust is central to interprofessional collaboration and successful implementation of new practices. This exploratory qualitative study used a secondary data analysis from two studies, each offering a complementary perspective on how teachers and SLTs negotiate and build trust when they collaborate to implement a universal tier-1 interactive reading program. In the first study, 10 kindergarten teachers were interviewed by the SLT with whom they would be collaborating, prior to the implementation of the program, representing the early stages of collaboration. In the second study, seven SLTs were individually interviewed after they had implemented the program, representing a retrospective look on their interprofessional collaboration with teachers. Both datasets were coded deductively using the Theoretical Model for Trusting Relationships and Implementation. Then, the two coded datasets were analyzed together and inductively, to identify patterns expressing similarities, differences or unique insights on collaboration at pre- and post-implementation. The findings positioned trust relationships at the heart of transforming practices, illustrating the model's strategies in action, sometimes in a consistent manner across both phases, sometimes with evolving shifts between the early stages of collaboration to post-collaboration. A new strategy, developing a common language , is suggested as an addition to the model, as the interprofessional nature of collaboration required bridging the terminologies of both disciplines. This study provides concrete examples of how the Metz et al. model can be applied in real-world settings and offers practical implications for SLTs and teachers who collaborate in classroom activities to improve universal practices during literacy activities.
This study focused on the methodological imperative of listening to children's voices in educational research, specifically in the context of structured literacy teaching. Adopting a qualitative, descriptive, multiple case study design, the research explored the experiences of five children (aged 5-6) engaged in structured literacy teaching through the Better Start Literacy Approach (BSLA) and their emerging perceptions of themselves as readers and writers. Aligning with a child-centred methodology, data collection measures included drawings, an emoji-based survey and individual interviews. Analysis involved exploration of focal points and key features in children's drawings, qualitative analysis of emoji survey ratings and deductive content analysis of children's interview transcripts. Overall, children's experiences of the BSLA reading and spelling lessons, as well as shared story time, were positive. Aspects most enjoyed included phonological awareness activities, decodable readers, and shared storybooks. All children could clearly articulate their literacy learning goals, most with a high level of specificity. Drawings by strong readers more often depicted themselves in positions of authority or leadership during reading and writing activities, while emergent readers tended to portray themselves as peers or in supported roles with a teacher. Children's emerging self-perceptions as readers and writers did not always align with literacy assessment data, highlighting how engaging children through multiple expressive modalities can reveal complex, relational, and affective dimensions of learning and self-perception. This study contributes to the growing call for child-inclusive methodologies in education research and highlights how educators and researchers can more meaningfully incorporate children's voices in the evaluation and refinement of structured literacy approaches.
