Who it is for
Literacy co-ordinators, Headteachers, Staff with leadership responsibility in early years settings
Read the full guidance report
Recommendations poster
Overview
What this guidance report covers
This is part of a series of reports that the EEF is producing on the theme of literacy. It focuses on the teaching of communication, language and literacy to children between the ages of three and five. However, it may also be applicable to older pupils who have fallen behind their peers, or younger pupils who are making rapid progress. Two earlier reports cover the typical requirements of teaching literacy in Key Stage 1 (ages 5–7) and Key Stage 2 (ages 7–11).
This guidance report offers early years professionals seven practical evidence-based recommendations to provide every child–but particularly those from disadvantaged homes–with a high-quality and well-rounded grounding in early literacy, language and communication.
One recommendation focuses on the importance of high-quality interactions between adults and children to develop their communication and language skills. Another suggests using a range of different activities– like singing, storytelling and nursery rhymes–to develop children’s early reading and ability to hear and manipulate sounds. To develop the recommendations, we reviewed the best available international research and consulted experts to identify key principles for preparing for literacy.