Early Talk Boost is a targeted early language intervention for three-and-four-year-olds who would benefit from additional support with their communication and language skills.
The Early Talk Boost intervention has been designed by Speech and Language UK’s specialist teachers and speech and language therapists, with the help of early years practitioners and parents. It is informed by strong evidence and has demonstrated early promise in a study that showed impact on children’s ability to talk and understand words.
In March 2023, we commissioned an independent evaluation of the programme, funded through our work with the Department for Education’s Stronger Practice Hubs. Commissioned through our recently expanded focus on the early years, it was one of our first trials that was designed to test the impact of a targeted intervention for three-and-four-year-olds in early years settings. This meant that children in participating settings, who were identified as needing additional support with their language and communication skills, would receive the programme.
To kick-off the evaluation, the evaluators from the Institute of Employment Studies, undertook baseline data collection in settings that had signed up in the Autumn term of 2023. There were two aims to this: to identify those children who needed additional support with their language development in participating settings, and to assess their levels of development before they received the programme.
