Supporting Speech & Language at Home
Parent Guidance for Children Aged 0–3 Years
A parent-friendly guidance pack supporting early speech and language through everyday interaction.
(Available Now with Professional Membership)
What this document is
Supporting Speech & Language at Home (0–3 Years) is a parent-facing guidance pack designed to help families understand how children develop speech and language naturally through connection, interaction and everyday experiences.
Written in accessible, non-technical language, the pack explains how talking, listening, waiting, following a child’s lead and reducing pressure all support communication development — without drills, correction or formal teaching.
It includes:
Clear, reassuring information about how speech and language develop
Practical, everyday strategies parents can use confidently at home
Guidance on when families may wish to seek additional advice, shared sensitively and without alarm
Settings can choose whether to include the final “when to seek advice” sheet when sharing this resource, depending on context and family needs.
This document supports understanding and confidence.
It does not diagnose, assess or replace professional advice.
Who this is for
Parents and carers of children aged 0–3 years
Baby room and toddler room practitioners sharing guidance with families
Key persons supporting communication and language development
Childminders working closely with parents
Settings strengthening home–setting consistency in speech and language support
What this document helps you do
This document helps settings to:
Share clear, reassuring messages about early speech and language development
Support parents without creating anxiety or unrealistic expectations
Promote evidence-informed strategies that fit into everyday family life
Reduce reliance on “testing”, quizzing or correction at home
Encourage confidence, enjoyment and interaction around communication
Provide consistent messaging aligned with EYFS and best practice
For parents, it reinforces that they are their child’s most powerful language resource — and that connection, not correction, drives development.
How this fits within our Baby & Toddler Early Years frameworks
This document forms part of our wider Baby and Toddler Early Years Curriculum & Pedagogy frameworks, supporting strong partnerships between settings and families from birth onwards.
This document is part of our EYFS Curriculum & Pedagogy Membership (Professional), which provides full access to age-specific curriculum frameworks, planning guidance, assessment tools and leadership support.
(Available Now with Professional Membership)
Related documents include:
Additional Whole-Setting Guidance | for Professional Members
Explore our whole-setting guidance below, including overarching curriculum and pedagogy documents, early years schemas and EYFS setting policies.
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Early Years Schemas - Practitioner Toolkit | EYFS Birth-5
↪ Schema Cards (definition, behaviours, age-related examples, enabling resources)
↪ Schema Observation & Responsive Provision Planning Template
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EYFS Group Setting Policies Pack
↪ x 22 Policy Documents
↪ Policy Sign-Off and Confirmation Document
↪ EYFS Setting Policy Folder Contents List
Childminder Setting Policies Pack
↪ x 22 Policy Documents
↪ Childminder Assistant or Volunteer Policy Sign-Off and Confirmation Document
↪ Childminder Policy Folder Contents List
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↪ Clear, practitioner-friendly explanations of key curriculum and pedagogy terms used throughout our guidance.
Age-Specific Guidance For Children Within Your Care
Select the ages relevant for the children you work with. You do not need to use everything. (Many practitioners use more than one pathway.)
What is Professional Membership?
Find our more about our Professional guidance for confident, reflective EYFS practice (Birth–5)
Latest EYFS Articles & Practical Guides | From Our Blog
Stay informed, get expert advice, and find inspiration from our collection of articles and useful external resources, tailored specifically for EYFS practitioners. We regularly publish in-depth articles to support you with current best practices, regulatory changes, and fresh ideas.
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Content within the EYFS Curriculum & Pedagogy Membership is provided as professional guidance and support. It reflects current understanding of the EYFS statutory framework, Development Matters and inspection expectations at the time of writing. Practitioners are responsible for applying professional judgement and ensuring practice aligns with current statutory requirements and their specific context.
Updated: January 2026