Early years: speech, language and communication action plan

Why Children’s Early Speech, Language and Communication Development Is So Important

SLC skills are foundational to every aspect of a child’s development, from building relationships and emotional wellbeing, to learning and future life chances. Early difficulties with SLC are strongly linked to poorer educational outcomes, social isolation, mental health challenges and reduced employment prospects later in life.

Children with communication needs are at a greater risk of not having their rights realised or protected. Children growing up in poverty are disproportionately affected, often starting early learning and childcare (ELC) or school with a developmental gap that can widen over time.

This Action Plan focuses on strengthening the system’s support for early communication development in all children from pre-birth to school starting age. It forms a key component of Scotland’s Whole Family Support approach. Supporting every child to develop strong early SLC skills is essential to disrupting entrenched cycles of disadvantage and addressing inequalities at their source, by reducing the risk of poorer outcomes associated with early childhood poverty.

It also supports our ambition to keep The Promise by contributing to better outcomes for care-experienced children, many of whom are at increased risk of developing SLC needs.

Strong SLC skills underpin literacy and numeracy development, emotional wellbeing and self-regulation.

Source: co-produced by the NELC team and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT) Scotland (2024). Figure 1. Infographics

Early child development statistics from 2023–2024 showed that children living in the most deprived areas of Scotland were more than three times as likely to have an SLC concern at the 27-30 month Child Health Review (CHR) compared to those in the least deprived areas. Specifically, 19.4% of children in the most deprived areas had a recorded concern, compared to 6.1% in the least deprived areas. The graph below highlights this stark and persistent social gradient in early SLC concerns across Scotland. Figure 2: New and Existing SLC Concerns at 27-30 Month Child Health Review

Source: Public Health Scotland Early Child Development Statistics Dashboard (Dashboard - Early child development statistics - Scotland 2023 to 2024 - Early child development - Publications - Public Health Scotland)

These figures are challenging; however, change is possible. There is a robust body of evidence supporting the importance of environmental factors and the crucial role of ‘early and often’ responsive adult-child interactions in the development of SLC. Additionally, there is good evidence that parental responsiveness is a protective factor for children experiencing wider socioeconomic risks. Supporting early parental responsiveness provides an opportunity to prevent SLC needs arising for some children and improve SLC outcomes for all.

Supporting children’s SLC requires collective responsibility across health, education, social work, community services, families and communities. Our engagement with parents indicates they recognise the importance of SLC development, but there can be a perception that communication will develop naturally through general experiences such as attending nursery with other children. This Plan aims to empower all parents and carers by highlighting their vital role and providing accessible support for early communication development. Every contact with a child and family is an opportunity to nurture communication, especially for those facing poverty and multiple disadvantages. Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs) play a crucial role in SLC support across the system, at both local and national levels. Their expertise as practitioners, leaders and key collaborators enhances service design, capacity building and workforce development within planning and delivery for whole-system improvement.