{"id":34780,"date":"2025-12-11T16:38:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T16:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/?page_id=34780"},"modified":"2025-12-12T14:53:49","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T14:53:49","slug":"speech-clarity","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/ordinarily-available-inclusive-provision\/targeted-support-framework-eyfs\/communication-and-interaction-needs-ey\/speech-clarity\/","title":{"rendered":"Speech clarity in the early years"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"content-heading-quote clearfix \" id=\"block_acf-block-693bf20cba282\"><div class=\"hq-outer\"><h2><span class=\"hq-heading\">What is speech clarity?<\/span><span class=\"hq-icon\"><?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\"?> <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" id=\"a\" viewBox=\"0 0 113.62 100\"><path d=\"M51.44,100H.24c-1.08-6.9,1.5-13.25,7.31-17.27,4.39-3.03,9.34-4.42,14.52-4.84,6-.49,11.95,0,17.57,2.45,6.23,2.71,10.69,7.01,11.76,14.09.27,1.77.04,3.61.04,5.58Z\" style=\"fill:#24295f;\"><\/path><path d=\"M50.11,0c9.73.28,17.58,2.3,24.09,8.12,3.71,3.32,6.02,7.49,6.3,12.53.25,4.54-1.4,8.5-4.31,11.93-3.71,4.37-8.32,7.59-13.5,9.77-5.7,2.39-11.6,4.32-17.45,6.33-2.13.73-3.95,0-4.92-1.58-.99-1.6-.76-2.88.85-4.92,1.53-1.93,1.44-2.92-.77-3.99-2.02-.98-4.15-1.84-6.33-2.32-11.46-2.52-14.95-14.89-8.54-24.04,4.1-5.84,10-8.99,16.72-10.61,2.97-.72,6.05-.95,7.86-1.23ZM46.47,43.49c3.06-1.05,6.19-1.99,9.22-3.2,5.86-2.33,11.52-5.07,15.97-9.76,3.26-3.43,5-7.41,3.62-12.19-1.26-4.36-4.34-7.27-8.15-9.45-6.99-4.02-14.52-4.7-22.26-3.35-5.29.92-10.08,3.08-13.92,7.07-5.91,6.14-5.54,16.59,4.88,18.83,2.67.57,5.23,1.83,7.71,3.05,1.82.9,3.12,2.58,3.35,4.68.15,1.34-.25,2.73-.42,4.32Z\" style=\"fill:#24295f;\"><\/path><path d=\"M25.76,43.18c7.8-.32,15.15,6.57,15,15.35-.14,8.17-6.8,14.86-15.03,14.85-8.2,0-14.99-6.87-14.97-15.14.01-8.3,6.77-15.09,15-15.06Z\" style=\"fill:#24295f;\"><\/path><path d=\"M51.63,51.2c7.51-2.42,14.41-5.08,20.4-9.53,2.96-2.2,5.45-5.06,8.19-7.58.35-.32,1.03-.71,1.33-.57,4.65,2.15,8.49,5.1,9.59,10.56,1.01,4.97-1.64,9.26-6.62,10.79-1.93.59-3.92,1.11-5.72,1.98-3.03,1.47-3.34,3.31-1.41,6.03.31.44.29,1.12.42,1.69-.57.09-1.19.37-1.71.25-7.14-1.76-14.01-4.22-19.86-8.88-1.62-1.29-2.92-2.97-4.61-4.72Z\" style=\"fill:#24295f;\"><\/path><path d=\"M73.09,100c-.68-6.59,2.18-11.69,8.45-14.35,7.55-3.22,15.2-3.1,22.63.47,5.45,2.62,7.86,7.32,7.4,13.88h-38.48Z\" style=\"fill:#24295f;\"><\/path><path d=\"M103.49,68.86c-.09,6.43-4.98,11.41-11.16,11.37-6.23-.04-11.32-5.27-11.23-11.55.08-6.23,5.15-11.16,11.4-11.09,6.22.07,11.07,5.05,10.99,11.27Z\" style=\"fill:#24295f;\"><\/path><path d=\"M37.33,17.57v-3.94h29.38v3.94h-29.38Z\" style=\"fill:#24295f;\"><\/path><path d=\"M66.72,23.53v3.71h-29.34v-3.71h29.34Z\" style=\"fill:#24295f;\"><\/path><\/svg> <\/span><\/h2><div class=\"hq-intro\"><p>Speech clarity is how easily and accurately spoken words can be understood by a listener. It includes pronunciation, pace, volume, intonation and enunciation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>In the early years it is important to bear in mind the child&#8217;s age and stage of development when identifying need.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"content-boxes clearfix\" id=\"block_acf-block-693bf20cba563\"><ul class=\"grid-x grid-margin-x small-up-1 medium-up-1 large-up-1\"><li class=\"cell box-contents\"><div class=\"box-contents-inner has-svg\"><div class=\"box-icon\"><?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\"?> <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" id=\"Layer_1\" viewBox=\"0 0 60 60\"><defs><style>.cls-1{fill:#f3f1f6;}.cls-2{fill:#5d4c77;}<\/style><\/defs><g id=\"Group_7793\"><path id=\"Path_2\" class=\"cls-1\" d=\"M17.57,2.73h24.27l16.17,16.5v23.01l-16.17,17.76h-23.43L1.48,42.24v-23.01S17.57,2.73,17.57,2.73Z\"><\/path><g id=\"question-octagon\"><g id=\"Group_7792\"><path id=\"Path_6596\" class=\"cls-2\" d=\"M17.02.55C17.37.2,17.85,0,18.34,0h23.3C42.14,0,42.61.2,42.96.55l16.48,16.48c.35.35.55.83.55,1.32v23.3c0,.5-.2.97-.55,1.32l-16.48,16.48c-.35.35-.83.55-1.32.55h-23.3c-.5,0-.97-.2-1.32-.55L.55,42.97c-.35-.35-.55-.82-.55-1.32v-23.3c0-.5.2-.97.55-1.32L17.02.55ZM19.12,3.75L3.75,19.12v21.75l15.38,15.38h21.75l15.38-15.38v-21.75l-15.38-15.38h-21.76Z\"><\/path><path id=\"Path_6597\" class=\"cls-2\" d=\"M19.57,21.78c-.01.24.08.48.26.65s.41.27.66.26h3.14c.52-.01.95-.41,1.01-.93.34-2.43,2.05-4.21,5.1-4.21,2.61,0,5,1.27,5,4.33,0,2.36-1.42,3.44-3.67,5.09-2.56,1.81-4.58,3.93-4.44,7.37v.8c.03.51.45.92.96.91h3.08c.52,0,.94-.41.95-.93v-.39c0-2.66,1.04-3.44,3.84-5.51,2.32-1.72,4.73-3.62,4.73-7.63,0-5.6-4.85-8.31-10.16-8.31-4.82,0-10.09,2.19-10.45,8.48v.02ZM25.49,43.16c.05,1.96,1.68,3.5,3.64,3.45.07,0,.14,0,.2,0,2.32,0,3.91-1.46,3.91-3.44s-1.6-3.49-3.91-3.49c-1.94-.16-3.65,1.28-3.82,3.22,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,.09-.01.17-.01.26h-.01Z\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg> <\/div><h3><strong>Identification<\/strong> &#8211; what you may see in the child<\/h3><div class=\"box-content list-col-1\"><ul>\n<li>Talking in short phrases or sentences which are made up of vowel sounds only, for example &#8216;eye uh eye a&#8217; = &#8216;my mum likes cats&#8217;.<\/li>\n<li>Replacing one vowel sound with another, for example, pig = &#8216;pog&#8217;, hat = &#8216;hut&#8217;.<\/li>\n<li>Uses a limited range of sounds and a preferred sound, for example &#8216;de dod den dard&#8217; (the dog went park).<\/li>\n<li>Misses out the first or last sounds in words, for example &#8216;ig&#8217; = pig, &#8216;og&#8217; = dog, &#8216;ca&#8217; = cat.<\/li>\n<li>Uses sounds at the back of the mouth rather than the front, for example tea = key, doll = goll.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"content-boxes clearfix\" id=\"block_acf-block-693bf20cba619\"><ul class=\"grid-x grid-margin-x small-up-1 medium-up-1 large-up-1\"><li class=\"cell box-contents\"><div class=\"box-contents-inner has-svg\"><div class=\"box-icon\"><?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\"?> <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" id=\"Layer_1\" viewBox=\"0 0 60.07 60\"><defs><style>.cls-1{fill:#f3f1f6;}.cls-2{fill:#5d4c77;}<\/style><\/defs><polygon class=\"cls-1\" points=\"43.44 27.53 31.1 31.33 31.1 12.17 43.44 8.78 43.44 27.53\"><\/polygon><polygon class=\"cls-1\" points=\"41.76 6.92 30.45 10.08 17.08 6.58 30.36 3.46 41.76 6.92\"><\/polygon><polygon class=\"cls-1\" points=\"28.93 52.72 16.58 56.52 16.58 37.36 28.93 33.97 28.93 52.72\"><\/polygon><polygon class=\"cls-1\" points=\"57.97 52.73 45.62 56.53 45.62 37.37 57.97 33.97 57.97 52.73\"><\/polygon><polygon class=\"cls-1\" points=\"28 32.55 16.69 35.72 3.33 32.21 16.6 29.09 28 32.55\"><\/polygon><polygon class=\"cls-1\" points=\"55.99 32.46 44.67 35.71 31.39 32.45 44.67 29.22 55.99 32.46\"><\/polygon><polygon class=\"cls-1\" points=\"44.38 56.8 31.1 52.76 31.1 33.7 43.87 37.1 44.38 56.8\"><\/polygon><polygon class=\"cls-1\" points=\"15.09 56.8 1.81 52.76 1.81 33.7 14.58 37.1 15.09 56.8\"><\/polygon><polygon class=\"cls-1\" points=\"29.42 31.61 16.59 27.57 16.59 8.51 28.93 11.91 29.42 31.61\"><\/polygon><path class=\"cls-2\" d=\"M60.14,32.49c0-.06,0-.1-.02-.16,0-.02,0-.06-.02-.08-.02-.05-.03-.1-.06-.15,0-.02-.02-.05-.03-.07-.03-.06-.07-.12-.11-.17,0,0,0-.02-.02-.02-.05-.06-.11-.12-.17-.17-.02,0-.03-.02-.04-.02-.05-.03-.09-.06-.15-.09-.03-.01-.06-.02-.09-.03-.03,0-.06-.02-.09-.03l-13.74-3.93V7.04c0-.06,0-.1-.02-.16,0-.02,0-.06-.02-.08-.02-.05-.03-.1-.06-.15,0-.02-.02-.05-.03-.07-.03-.06-.07-.12-.11-.17,0,0,0-.02-.02-.02-.05-.06-.11-.12-.17-.17-.02,0-.02-.02-.04-.02-.05-.03-.09-.06-.15-.09-.03-.01-.06-.02-.09-.03-.03,0-.06-.02-.09-.03L30.31,1.89c-.2-.06-.4-.06-.6,0l-14.53,4.15-.1.04s-.04.02-.06.02c-.42.19-.67.63-.63,1.09v20.38L.66,31.49s-.06.02-.09.03c-.02,0-.06.02-.08.03-.05.02-.1.06-.15.09-.02,0-.02.02-.04.02-.06.05-.12.1-.17.17,0,0,0,.02-.02.02-.04.06-.08.11-.11.17,0,.02-.02.05-.03.07-.02.05-.04.09-.06.15,0,.02-.02.06-.02.08,0,.05-.02.1-.02.16v21.03c0,.48.31.9.77,1.04l14.53,4.47c.21.06.43.06.65,0l14.2-4.37,14.2,4.37c.21.06.43.06.65,0l14.53-4.47c.46-.14.77-.57.77-1.04v-21.03h-.04ZM14.4,56.52l-12.35-3.8v-18.75l12.35,3.39v19.16ZM15.49,35.4l-10.49-2.88,10.49-3,10.49,3s-10.49,2.88-10.49,2.88ZM28.93,52.73l-12.35,3.8v-19.16l12.35-3.39v18.75ZM28.93,31.09l-12.34-3.53V8.51l12.34,3.4v19.18ZM19.53,7.06l10.49-3,10.49,3-10.49,2.89s-10.49-2.89-10.49-2.89ZM43.44,8.51v19.05l-12.35,3.53V11.91l12.35-3.39h0ZM43.44,56.52l-12.35-3.8v-18.75l12.35,3.39s0,19.16,0,19.16ZM44.54,35.4l-10.49-2.88,10.49-3,10.49,3s-10.49,2.88-10.49,2.88ZM57.97,52.73l-12.35,3.8v-19.16l12.35-3.39v18.75Z\"><\/path><\/svg> <\/div><h3><strong>Planned<\/strong> provision in the setting<\/h3><div class=\"box-content list-col-1\"><p>Based on need, some of this provision will be effective.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Value and respond<\/strong> to the child\u2019s attempts to speak.<\/li>\n<li>Focus on <strong>what<\/strong> the child is saying, not <strong>how<\/strong> they say it.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Provide a good speech sound model<\/strong> by repeating back clearly what the child has said.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Do not correct a child<\/strong> if they cannot say a word properly.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Use a speech sound development chart<\/strong> to identify sounds the child can make and sounds they are having difficulty making.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Consider that the sound may not be in the child\u2019s home language<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Play games which encourage playful sounds<\/strong>, for example, transport or animal noises.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Play <a href=\"https:\/\/educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk\/early-years\/evidence-store\/early-literacy?approach=teaching-sound-discrimination\" rel=\"noopener\">listening and auditory discrimination games<\/a><\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Play phonological awareness games<\/strong>. Allow the child time to share their ideas.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Speech and Language Therapy targets and strategies<\/strong> are planned for and carried out.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"content-boxes clearfix\" id=\"block_acf-block-693bf20cba6c4\"><ul class=\"grid-x grid-margin-x small-up-1 medium-up-1 large-up-1\"><li class=\"cell box-contents\"><div class=\"box-contents-inner has-svg\"><div class=\"box-icon\"><?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"UTF-8\"?> <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" id=\"Layer_1\" viewBox=\"0 0 76.62 60\"><defs><style>.cls-1{fill:#f3f1f6;}.cls-2{fill:#5d4c77;}<\/style><\/defs><path class=\"cls-1\" d=\"M1.37,3h73v52H1.37V3Z\"><\/path><path class=\"cls-2\" d=\"M46.52,13.63h19.15v5.47h-19.15v-5.47Z\"><\/path><path class=\"cls-2\" d=\"M46.52,27.26h19.15v5.47h-19.15v-5.47Z\"><\/path><path class=\"cls-2\" d=\"M46.52,40.9h19.15v5.47h-19.15v-5.47Z\"><\/path><path class=\"cls-2\" d=\"M10.94,13.63h19.15v5.47H10.94v-5.47Z\"><\/path><path class=\"cls-2\" d=\"M10.94,27.26h19.15v5.47H10.94v-5.47Z\"><\/path><path class=\"cls-2\" d=\"M10.94,40.9h19.15v5.47H10.94v-5.47Z\"><\/path><path class=\"cls-2\" d=\"M71.14,0H5.47C2.46,0,0,2.44,0,5.45v49.09c0,3.02,2.46,5.46,5.47,5.46h65.67c3.02,0,5.47-2.44,5.47-5.46V5.45C76.61,2.44,74.16,0,71.14,0ZM5.47,5.45h30.1v49.09H5.47V5.45ZM41.04,54.54V5.45h30.1v49.09h-30.1Z\"><\/path><\/svg> <\/div><h3><strong>Resources<\/strong> for settings<\/h3><div class=\"box-content list-col-1\"><h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Support services<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/childrenandfamilyhealthdevon.nhs.uk\/our-pathways\/speech-language-and-communication\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Speech, language and communication<\/a> | Children and Family Health Devon<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\">Further <strong>reading<\/strong> and information<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk\/early-years\/evidence-store\/early-literacy\" rel=\"noopener\">Early Literacy<\/a> | Education Endowment Foundation (EEF)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/speechandlanguage.org.uk\/help-for-families\/resource-library-for-families\/speech-sounds\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Speech Sounds<\/a> | Speech and Language UK<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.elklan.co.uk\/Shop\/Language_Builders_for_0-3s\" rel=\"noopener\">Language Builders for 0-3s<\/a> (book) | Elkan<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.elklan.co.uk\/Shop\/Language_Builders_for_2-4s\" rel=\"noopener\">Language Builders for 2-4s<\/a> (book) | Elkan<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>Resources to share with parents<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/childrenandfamilyhealthdevon.nhs.uk\/health-topic\/speech-language-and-communication\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Speech, language and communication<\/a> | Children and Family Health Devon<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/childrenandfamilyhealthdevon.nhs.uk\/resources\/early-communication-how-to-videos\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Early communication: How to videos<\/a> | Children and Family Health Devon<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/childrenandfamilyhealthdevon.nhs.uk\/resources\/?_topic=speech-language-and-communication\" rel=\"noopener\">Resources archive<\/a> | Children and Family Health Devon<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/tiny-happy-people\/articles\/zdmspg8\" rel=\"noopener\">How to play &#8216;What&#8217;s in the bag?&#8217; with your toddler<\/a> | BBC Tiny Happy People<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/tiny-happy-people\/articles\/z3ybg7h#zrbc4xs\" rel=\"noopener\">What age do speech sounds develop?<\/a> | BBC Tiny Happy People<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/speechandlanguage.org.uk\/educators-and-professionals\/resource-library-for-educators\/speech-sounds\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Speech sounds<\/a> | Speech and Language UK (resource library for educators)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":981,"featured_media":0,"parent":34754,"menu_order":7,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-34780","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-28 20:15:21","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/981"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34780"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34780\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34866,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34780\/revisions\/34866"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}