A Derby mum is already seeing the improvements in her daughter’s communication and language skills thanks to courses for parents run by TALK Derby.

Liene Lvova attended TALK Derby’s Let’s Talk at Home course at her local children’s centre and has used the knowledge and skills she gained to support her daughter, Eli, who was falling behind in her speech and language development. She could see improvements in Eli’s communication skills after just a few sessions. One of the key things she learnt was to give Eli time to respond. Mum, Liene also learnt and how to change what she said if Eli doesn’t understand.

Liene said:

I learnt that anything can be used in play and chatting time. We use things we find around the house and chat during play time, describing how things look, feel and taste.

Liene is very pleased with Eli’s speech, language and communication development and adds:

It melts my heart to hear Eli say new words. She talks much, much more now. I would recommend the course to any parent who has a child who they think is having problems communicating.

TALK Derby is being co-ordinated for Derby City Council by early years consultancy, Hempsall’s. Project Director, Kate Freeman said:

TALK Derby is important to children in Derby, because it helps them to develop the speech, language and communication skills they need for a happy and successful life. The support and training will have a long-lasting impact on the wellbeing of the children and social mobility in the city. As TALK Derby progresses, the number of success stories grow. Many families, schools, nurseries and childminders in Derby have developed their communication skills.

Although face-to-face training is currently paused, early years practitioners are still able to access training TALK Derby has pulled together resources for parents to help them work on their children’s communications skills at home. These can be found on the website.

About TALK Derby

TALK Derby is a government funded project, run through the Derby Opportunity Area. It aims to help local children develop the speech, language and communication skills they need to succeed in life.

Derby has been identified as an opportunity area because of its low social mobility, being 316th in the Social Mobility Commission’s Index out of 324 local authority areas. Children in disadvantaged areas has less chance of doing well at school and getting a good job.

Schools, nurseries, early years settings, childminders and families in Derby can get access to speech, language and communication training and support through TALK Derby, for free.

Research has shown that a child’s speech, language and communication skills in their early years can influence their academic achievement and employment opportunities into adulthood.

TALK Derby is set to run until September 2020.