Six pre-school children sat on the floor of a classroom looking at their teacher.

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Children and parents welcomed to Buckinghamshire New University for specialist ‘language and play’ event

On Friday 25 April, parents and carers were welcomed to Buckinghamshire New University (BNU) to attend a unique event aimed at developing children’s speech through play.

In partnership with Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS trust and Buckinghamshire Health and Social Care Academy, the event combined expert insights with interactive play examples, encouraging parents and carers to practice what they had learned first-hand. 

Organised and led by Rebecca Rochon, Associate Professor at BNU, speech therapists Kim Price and Mellisa Martin were welcomed to the stage to deliver a specialist-led talk on language and play. 

A woman in front of a large group presenting. She is holding a microphone.

Topics covered included the difference between hearing, listening, and understanding words, the building blocks of language, and the importance of sound and gestures when engaging with children, including how to be a ‘tuned in partner’ and when to respond to a child’s cue.

Whilst Kim and Melissa delivered the insightful workshop, the children were engaged in supervised soft play in the same venue, allowing them to explore, interact, and build social and communication skills. After the workshop, parents and carers joined the children for an hour of play, incorporating some of the new techniques learned.

One parent said: “The activity stations were varied and engaging and was really nice to have the support of keeping my little one busy so I could listen to Kim and Melissa.”.

A woman plays with her child in front of sand pit.
I attended the Language and Play event in my role as Head of School for Human and Social Sciences. I was fascinated to hear Kim Price and Melissa Martin’s perspective as to why play is so important to speech development in young children. Proud to have the Early Years courses at BNU led by experts who attended and who engaged wonderfully with the parents, guardians, carers, and their little ones.

It was a fabulously impactful event with play at its heart. I attended as Head of School, but I stayed as a parent of young children myself, and left smiling.
Dr Ciaran O'Keeffe Head of School of Human and Social Sciences
Head and shoulders shot of Ciaran O'Keeffe wearing a grey suit with a white shirt and black tie stood in front of a white wall

Rebecca Rochon, Associate Professor Professor Education commented:

“Speech and language development is fundamental to a child's ability to engage with the world around them. As a civic university BNU was excited to collaborate locally, with Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust contributing expert knowledge for language development, and Chepping View SCITT providing fantastic trainee teachers to support the hands-on activities for little ones.”.

Children playing

 

Learn more about our Education and Early Years courses here.