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Communication, language, and literacy

Audience

Practitioners working with families with children from two to five years old.

Aims

  • Help practitioners work with parents to equip them with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to support the creation of positive home learning environments.
  • Focus on meaningful communication and literacy that children make sense of and enjoy, as part of their everyday lives.
  • Boost children's communication, language and early literacy development.
  • Be fun, engaging, inclusive and accessible for all, through a low or no-cost approach.
  • Enable practitioners to gain an understanding of the REAL approach, identify ways to incorporate it into everyday practice, and share it with families, thereby building confidence and knowledge to support the home learning environment.
  • Develop a multi-agency approach to supporting parents in developing their home learning environments, with a specific focus on communication, language, and literacy.
Date Time Location

Monday, 20 October 2025

9.45 am to 4.45 pm March Library

Thursday, 12 February 2026 

10 am to 5 pm Ely Library

Monday, 2 March 2026, Monday, 9 March 2026, and Monday, 16 March 2026

7 pm to 9 pm Online via Microsoft Teams

Monday, 27 April 2026

9.45 am to 4.45 pm March Library

Monday, 15 June 2026 

9.30 am to 4.30 pm  The Grove Primary School, Cambridge

Booking and reservations for Early Years Workforce Development.

Cost details

Members £8
Non-members £8

Audience

This course is designed for family-facing early years practitioners, including childminders, Child and Family Centre staff, early years practitioners, early years teachers, and teaching assistants.  

Aims

Hanen’s Teacher Talk three-module series is based on ‘Learning Language and Loving It’, the Hanen programme for early childhood educators. It has been developed to provide core strategies to help you create rich and stimulating language learning environments for the young children you work with.

This first module will show you how to use everyday conversations in play and daily routines to promote children’s communication and social development, including children with language delays and second language learners. During this course, you will:

  • Identify children's conversational styles and the role practitioners play in interactions
  • Implement steps to follow the child's lead, observe, wait and listen, be face-to-face, imitate, interpret, comment, and join in and play.
  • Help children become better conversation partners by using appropriate questions, comments and turn-taking cues.
  • Use important steps to ensure no child is left out of the interaction during group activities.

Additional information

Learners will need to receive a participant's handbook, included in the cost of the course, from the trainer. Learners will also need to complete pre-session homework, which will take approximately 30 minutes.

For a limited time, you can save 20% off your booking fee by booking a space to join all three Hanen Teacher Talk modules.

Date Time Location
Thursday, 23 October 2025 9.45 am to 5.15 pm Ely Library

Booking and reservations for Early Years Workforce Development.

Cost details

    Course cost, if you book all three sessions
Members £81 £64.80
Non-members £135 £108
Out of county £225 £180

Audience

This course is designed for family-facing early years practitioners, including childminders, Child and Family Centre staff, and early years practitioners. Those wishing to join Module 2 must already have completed Module 1.

Aims

Hanen’s Teacher Talk three-module series is based on ‘Learning Language and Loving It’, the Hanen programme for early childhood educators. It has been developed to provide core strategies to help you create rich and stimulating language learning environments for the young children you work with.

This second module will discuss the important links between oral language development and literacy. It will provide you with practical strategies for paving the way for children to read and write. During this course, you will learn how to:

  • Help children develop a positive attitude towards the use of print.
  • Choose books that match children’s interests and stages of development.
  • Use book reading as a time for interaction and conversation.
  • Make print a natural and meaningful part of every day.

Additional information

Learners will need to receive a participant's handbook, included in the cost of the course, from the trainer. Learners will also need to complete pre-session homework, which will take approximately 30 minutes.

For a limited time, you can save 20% off your booking fee by booking a space to join all three Hanen Teacher Talk modules.

Date Time Location
Thursday, 26 March 2026 9.45 am to 5.15 pm Ely Library

Booking and reservations for Early Years Workforce Development.

Cost details

    Course cost, if you book all three sessions
Members £81 £64.80
Non-members £135 £108
Out of county £225 £180

Audience

This course is designed for family-facing early years practitioners, including childminders, Child and Family Centre staff, and practitioners. Those wishing to join Module 3 must already have completed Module 1.

Aims

Hanen’s Teacher Talk three-module series is based on ‘Learning Language and Loving It’, the Hanen programme for early childhood educators. It has been developed to provide core strategies to help you create rich and stimulating language learning environments for the young children you work with.

This third module will show you how to provide a physical and social environment that encourages peer interaction and creates many opportunities for successful interactions with other children. During this course, you will learn how to:

  • Make the most effective use of space in the classroom.
  • Encourage a variety of groupings for interaction.
  • Provide appropriate materials and activities.
  • Create reasons for interaction and provide specific coaching.

Additional information

Learners will need to receive a participant's handbook, included in the cost of the course, from the trainer. Learners will also need to complete pre-session homework, which will take approximately 30 minutes.

For a limited time, you can save 20% off your booking fee by booking a space to join all three Hanen Teacher Talk modules.

Date Time Location
Thursday, 9 July 2026 9.45 am to 5.15 pm Ely Library

Booking and reservations for Early Years Workforce Development.

Cost details

    Course cost, if you book all three sessions
Members £81 £64.80
Non-members £135 £108
Out of county £225 £180

Audience

This course is designed for family-facing early years practitioners who work with young children from birth to five, including childminders, Child and Family Centre staff, early years setting practitioners, early years teachers, teaching assistants, and community groups.

Aims

This one-day interactive course focuses on how we can create communication supportive environments to support all children’s speech, language and communication skills, including those with speech and language challenges. During this course, you will:

  • Consider the skills underpinning communication and language.
  • Look at how children develop communication skills at home and in educational settings.
  • Explore a range of strategies that will help children to access the areas of learning and development in the early years foundation stage curriculum.
  • Think about how to support children who have speech and language challenges.

Additional information

Delegates will receive a speech and language toolkit, worth £85, included in the cost of the course.

Date Time Location
Tuesday, 20 January 2026 9.30 am to 4 pm Sunley House, Papworth Everard

Booking and reservations for Early Years Workforce Development.

Cost details

Members £70.20
Non-members £117
Out of county £195

* Cambridgeshire Essentials

Audience

This course is designed for family-facing early years practitioners who work with children from birth to five, including childminders, Child and Family Centre staff, early years setting practitioners, early years teachers, teaching assistants and community groups who want to increase their knowledge of how to support young children’s early communication, language and literacy development.

Aims

This two-part interactive course focuses on how we can become increasingly responsive to young children's needs in our interactions with them, to support their language acquisition. This course will support delegates to develop their understanding of:

  • How our communication with children impacts them.
  • Why quality interactions matter.
  • Strategies to support effective interactions.
  • Why these strategies help support children's communication and language development.
  • How the use of expansions and extensions can help you build on children's existing knowledge.

Additional information

Delegates will be expected to participate in interactive activities with other delegates and share their experiences of these activities.

Date Time Location
Monday, 29 September 2025, and Monday, 13 October 2025  10 am to 12 pm, and 6.30 pm to 8 pm Ely Library, and Online via Microsoft Teams
Monday, 20 April 2026, and Tuesday, 5 May 2026 10 am to 12 pm, and 6.30 pm to 8 pm March Library, and Online via Microsoft Teams

Booking and reservations for Early Years Workforce Development.

Cost details

Members £32.40
Non-members £54
Out of county £90
Membership credits 2 Essential credits

* Cambridgeshire Essentials

Learn more with additional benefits and training credits included in the CambsEYC annual membership offer.