Chatting Together benefits children in Early Childhood Centres
Chatting Together is a national early language and communication initiative that is being embraced by Early Years practitioners across East Ayrshire.
Seven early years establishments are currently involved in the programme – Auchinleck, Bellsbank, Dalrymple, Flowerbank, Galston, Hillbank and Patna Early Childhood Centres (ECC) – where the teams are sharing the four most important things that adults can do every day to nurture little ones’ early language and communication.
Encouraging early language and communication isn’t just about speech, it is proven that it also helps to build the foundations for bonding, emotional regulation, wellbeing and learning.
Despite strong foundations and excellent early years support, persistent inequalities remain in early child development, with speech, language and communication (SLC) being of primary concern and inter-connected with other aspects of development.
The development and promotion of SLC, through high quality interaction, continues to be a focus within ECCs. Working in partnership with Scottish Government, some of ECCs have been applying a Quality Improvement approach to consider how they focus on responsive interactions in their settings with every child in every space, every time, by implementing the four key Chatting Together messages:
Get down to my level - watch and wait before joining in - copy my sounds and words and add a bit more - talk to me whatever we are doing
Learning from the East Ayrshire Chatting Together sessions has focused on strengthening early language and communication through consistent, reflective practice. A key theme has been the importance of responsive interactions—staff getting down to a child’s level, watching, waiting, following the child’s lead, and using comments to extend language rather than relying on questions.
Practitioners have engaged with practical improvement methods, particularly through the use of video and self-evaluation. Recording short interactions and using the rating scale has supported staff to reflect on their strengths and identify areas for development, building confidence and shared understanding across teams. Daily one-minute recordings and discussion re observations and data have helped embed learning into routine practice and encouraged continuous improvement.
Data gathered through PDSA (Plan, Do, Study, Act) cycles shows increasing confidence and improvement in interaction quality over time, alongside growing awareness of 'serve and return' interactions and how to maximise these in busy environments.
Staff have highlighted practical learning, such as the impact of being at child level, using richer language, and adapting activities to promote interaction.
Overall, East Ayrshire learning demonstrates that structured reflection, supportive leadership, and simple, evidence-based strategies can lead to meaningful changes in practice, with early signs of improved staff behaviours and more engaging interactions for children.
Councillor Elaine Cowan, Spokesperson for Education, and Children and Young People said: “I was very happy to visit Hillbank ECC and learn more about Chatting Together which consists of four ‘most important things’ that adults can do every day to nurture little ones’ early language and communication, while also lighting up their minds and creating a loving connection that will last a lifetime.
“Practitioners told us that using the chatting together messages, have become embedded in their interactions with children and that by consistently applying this approach they have seen an improvement in the development of children’s SLC.
“The next steps will be to share this learning with all ECCs in East Ayrshire who support two-year-old children.”