Case Study: Talking Tables with Ollerton Primary School
The Talking Table was set up in partnership with Ollerton Children’s Centre Early Years Specialist Teacher and Speech and Language Therapist. It aimed to help raise the attainment at the Foundation Stage in Communication, Language and Literacy and to raise awareness of the importance of talking and listening to children and the long term impact this can have on their learning.
Each week the adult leading the Talking Table would walk around the unit with a chosen bear. Children would be invited to come and talk about what they thought the bear had been doing. Four children would come to each sitting through their own choice, no one was told they must come. On average 16 children would come to talk during a morning. The aim was for child centred and non-directive conversation using gesture, mark making and talking in order to address low levels of language development. The adult facilitated the story telling. An enticing range of objects based around various weekly themes was introduced each week, including ‘The Seaside’ and ‘Picnic’ to help encourage the children’s story telling. They had a time to look at the objects and the bear and discuss, following this they drew a large picture of what they thought the bear had been doing and finally as they discussed their picture the adult scribed their ideas thus forming the story of the bear’s adventure that week.
The Talking Table encouraged language development in all children, gave them an opportunity to express themselves and provided an opportunity to find out about the children’s special interests and sustained shared thinking.
We are continuing the language development work with a transition group aided by targeted buddying support. This is aimed at the new children and parents who will enter Foundation Stage 1 in January 2010. It is hopeful we can continue to encourage the future development of the Talking Table following the transition group.
