Early Words Together at Two
Early Words Together at Two is an adaptation of Early Words Together, designed specifically for families of two-year-olds.
About the programme
The vocabulary of children from low income families can lag behind their high income counterparts by up to 17 months at the age of three (Gascoigne & Gross, 2017). However, the home learning environment can have a positive impact on a child’s communication and language development, and has been shown to have a greater impact on a child's intellectual, social and emotional development than the parent's education, occupation or wealth (Sylva et al, 2004).
Early Words Together at Two helps to improve the home learning environments of families of two-year-olds. It is a practitioner-led programme designed for private and school nurseries and children's centres, who serve low-income families, or any family who may be looking for ways to support their child's language development.
Evaluation of the programme
Between January 2017 and March 2018, the programme was supported by a grant from the Department for Education. Twenty settings in Leicester and Bradford took part and the programme served approximately 130 families. Overall, Early Words Together at Two was proven to have a statistically significant positive impact on children, parents and practitioners.
-
Improving the home learning environment for two-year-old children
84% of parents said they now better understand how important it is for them to talk with their child, and 77.3% of parents said they are more confident than before in sharing books and stories with their child.
-
Impacting positively on early years practitioners' ability to engage with parents
The programme was proven to make a statistically significant difference to practitioners' confidence in supporting parents to enhance their child’s early home learning environment.
-
Reducing the attainment gap by providing positive outcomes for vulnerable children
There was also a statistically significant difference to children’s interest in books (62.7% increase) and ability to say or sing rhymes and songs (63.8% increase).
"Early Words Together at Two makes for better practitioners"
Setting manager
"My daughter is singing a lot more, enjoying sharing books more and [her] confidence has grown."
Parent
Case studies
Read these case studies from nurseries and settings who have previously delivered Early Words Together at Two.
-
Early years practitioners from Lady Castle Nursery explain how they used our Early Words Together at Two programme to improve the literacy of two-year-olds through greater parental...Learn more about Case study: Early Words Together at Two in Lady Castle Nursery.
-
Representatives from St Edmund's Nursery School and Children's Centre in Bradford put together this case study to evaluate the changes for one family following five Early...Learn more about Early Words Together evaluation case study - St Edmund's Nursery, Bradford.
-
Childminder Joanne Walker has seen great results from taking part in Early Words Together at Two with the families she works with.Learn more about Jo’s Childminding in Hastings introduces families to Early Words Together at Two.
