Evaluation of Early Talk Boost Efficacy Trial

Plain English summary of protocol

Background and study aims
The way children talk and communicate can affect how well they do in school and later on in their jobs. In the UK, about 85,000 to 90,000 children aged 2 to 6 get help from speech and language therapists every year. Children from families with less money are more than twice as likely to have trouble with speaking and understanding words compared to children from richer families. This difference in language skills probably plays a part in the gap in how well children do in school early on and later. But here's the thing: most of the help with speech and language problems happens after children are already referred for therapy. Children who have only a bit of trouble with language often don't get enough help. Plus, COVID-19 has made the gap in language skills even bigger for children from poorer families.

So, now more than ever, we need programs to help children who have some language problems but don't need therapy. Early Talk Boost is one such program. It's for 3-4-year-olds who are a bit behind in their talking and understanding words. Speech and language experts, along with an experienced nursery teacher, designed it based on what we know works best for language development in young children. Speech and Language UK, which used to be called I CAN, runs this program.

Because there's a gap between research and practice when it comes to language programs for 3-4-year-olds, the EEF is funding a study to see how well Early Talk Boost works. This study will give us more evidence on what helps children in this age group, especially those who need help with language. They're going to use a Randomized Controlled Trial, which means they'll compare children who do the program with children who don't. They want to see if Early Talk Boost makes these 3-4-year-olds better at talking and understanding words.

But it's not just about numbers. They're also going to look at how well the program is put into practice. They want to know if people are doing it the way it's supposed to be done and if everyone involved is on board. They'll also check if other things, like government policies, affect how well the program works. They'll talk to the teachers, children, and parents to learn more about their experiences with the program. They'll also chat with the people who run the program to get their insights.

In summary, the study aims to check if Early Talk Boost really helps children with their language skills and to understand how and why it works or doesn't work.

Who can participate?
Children can take part if:
• 3-4 years old who may be behind with talking and understanding words.
• Has to be signed up for at least 2 terms.
• Should be able to attend the sessions at least 3 times a week.
• 3 years old and no more than 4.5 years old at the end of the intervention. Only children with birth date between 1 December 2019 and 1 Oct 2020 will be included e.g., the oldest children will just turn 4 on 1 Dec 2023 (and won’t be 4.5 until end May of that year so will have finished the intervention by then). And the youngest children will be born on 1 October 2020 and will just turn 3 on 1 Oct 2023 (allows for baselines from 1 Oct 2023).

Children can’t take part if they have:
• SEND concerns - have significant SEND which would prevent them from accessing the assessment and/or would be distressed through completing the assessment and taking part in the intervention.
• Diagnosed conditions e.g., Down’s Syndrome, complex learning needs.

What does the study involve?
Children will undergo a WellComm screening test and only children who meet the cut-off (i.e. amber and the top end of red ratings for their age) will be selected into the study. Once the screening has been completed and children have been selected into the study, a baseline measure of the primary outcome (a brief early language assessment) will be conducted for all selected children. Following this, half of the settings will be randomised to receive the intervention and the other half of the settings will be randomised to be the control group. Therefore, as part of the evaluation, only the selected children in the intervention settings will receive Early Talk Boost.

Overall, all children selected in the study will be asked to complete the brief early language assessment before the intervention starts and again after the intervention ends. At the end of the study, practitioners will also be asked to complete a questionnaire about children's attention and communication.

The Early Talk Boost programme starts with training for Early Years practitioners, which includes four main topics. These are:
• typical speech, language and communication development;
• things that can potentially go wrong and what impact that has on children’s learning and behaviour;
• which children will receive the most benefit from the intervention and how to use the Tracker to identify them and track their progress;
• planning and running the Early Talk Boost sessions, along with using the manual and accompanying resources, as well as involving parents (i.e. parent workshops and using the Jake and Tizzy book to support the home learning environment).

The training develops practitioners (1) ability to understand the Early Talk Boost activities and how to support children’s language, (2) understanding of how to identify children who will benefit from Early Talk Boost and monitor their progress, and (3) understanding of working with parents to support their child’s talking and understanding words. Two practitioners per setting are invited to take part in the training, which allows for continuity in the settings in case of staff changes and supports the practitioners in establishing Early Talk Boost as part of the daily nursery routine and sharing of good practice. Only one practitioner is required to run the intervention sessions.

What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Nurseries taking part in the programme will receive an Early Talk Boost Intervention pack which normally costs £550 and training and support, all of which is fully funded. Control settings will receive the same fully funded training and support in the academic year 2024/2025. In recognition that there are costs associated with undertaking and implementing professional development, additional funding has been made available by the EEF to reimburse nurseries for approximately 50% their staff’s time/cover cost to attend training, by providing settings with £60 per practitioner who completes the professional development activities, for up to two staff members. In addition, settings will receive £400 in the evaluation year (2023/2024) to assist in parental recruitment and completion of evaluation measures (surveys, setting visits, child language assessments). This will be divided into £150 for baseline (i.e., Spring 2024) and £250 on completion of endline (by Aug/Sept 2024).

We do not anticipate any potential risks. Parents/guardians are able to withdraw their children from the study at any time.

Where is the study run from?
The evaluation is being carried out by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) in England. The Early Talk Boost programme is designed and delivered by Speech and Language UK.

When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
January 2023 to April 2025

Who is funding the study?
Education Endowment Foundation (UK)

Who is the main contact?
Dr Seemanti Ghosh, seemanti.ghosh@employment-studies.co.uk

Study website

Contact information

Study information

Eligibility

Locations

Countries of recruitment

• England
• United Kingdom

Study participating centre

Sponsor information

Education Endowment Foundation
Charity

5th Floor, Millbank Tower
21 – 24 Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP
United Kingdom

Phone	+44 204 536 3999
Email	info@eefoundation.org.uk
Website	https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/
"ROR"	https://ror.org/03bhd6288

Funders

Funder type

Charity

Results and Publications

Study outputs

Additional files

44296 PIS.pdf

Information for settings

44296 Protocol v1.0 01Aug2023.pdf

Editorial Notes

21/10/2024: The study was cancelled.
26/09/2023: Trial's existence confirmed by Institute for Employment Studies (IES) Research Ethics Committee