As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen a rise in children needing support in communication and language skills. The staff at Eaton House Belgravia Nursery and Eaton House The Manor Nursery in Clapham are working hard to help nursery-age children to reacclimatise post-COVID.
[words by Mrs Roosha Sue, Headmistress of Eaton House The Manor Nursery and Head of Early Years, Eaton House Schools]
The impact on communication and language for babies born in the pandemic may be the result of a lack of socialisation, including a lack of peer talk from social distancing, and mask-wearing parents and adults; where babies can?t see facial expressions, missing social cues and words being formed and said.
Supporting developmental gaps
Nursery children of Eaton House Schools The nuances of language acquisition are lost through online alternatives, and are not suitable for babies and young children. In nursery, we are now working hard to support children with any gaps in this area of development.
In the nursery environment, it is essential that children are supported by practitioners who connect and care for each individual child. When a child starts nursery, they are often quiet or have limited vocabulary, or may have gaps in their development, due to COVID-19.
Allowing them to be dependent on a kind, patient, supportive adult, who really takes their time to listen and wait for verbal and non-verbal responses, helps each child to settle into the nursery routine and feel truly v...