Program details
- Priority area: Communication (language development)
- Primary audience: Educators
- Delivery mode: Group training, online, face-to-face
- Strength of evidence: Level 5 – Foundational research evidence
- AEDC sub-domains:
- Language and cognitive development - basic literacy
- Language and cognitive development
- Communication skills and general knowledge - communication and general knowledge
- Item cost: Moderate ($200-$2,000 per person/item)
Program description
Let’s Chat is a training program that introduces educators to a strengths-based practice framework to work in partnership with families to support children’s oral literacy skills.
The Let's Chat program consists of four 90-minute workshops and can be delivered online or face-to-face. Delivery options include:
- four online sessions via Zoom
- one day face-to-face with follow-up provided.
The series of workshops will support educators to increase their ability to turn everyday routines into opportunities to build early literacy skills. Educators will also enhance their skills at using book reading to increase the communication skills of the children that they work with. Educators will:
- Gain a clear understanding and knowledge of early oral literacy skills
- Become familiar with current research on supporting oral literacy in young children
- Be able to enhance the use of books to build early oral literacy skills
- Understand how to turn everyday routines into an opportunity to build language.
The second half of the program is focused on facilitator training for the Let's Chat parent facilitation program. The facilitator training extends on the initial learnings of the course and offers facilitators a format to run the Let's Chat groups with parents in their service. Evidence has shown that involving parents has the most significant impact on children's' learning outcomes. Educators will:
- Become familiar with the content in the four parent modules
- Enhance facilitators skills to deliver parent workshops on supporting their child's development of early oral literacy
- Become familiar with the core principles of family centred practice
- Be confident in presenting the parent modules through real life practice.
Participants also receive a detailed facilitator's manual and power point slides to use with the parent sessions.
Detailed cost
Let's Chat program: $400 (plus GST) per person.
Implementation considerations
- Target Population: educators.
- Program/practice descriptions and details: the Let’s Chat parent facilitation group builds parents’ knowledge of how language develops and the role that they play, raises awareness of all the opportunities to encourage language in their children’s everyday routines, gives parents enhanced skills and knowledge of the importance of reading to their child, and enhances parents’ ability to use books as a tool for interaction and language. Let’s Chat recognises that by supporting both educators and parents in enhancing their skills in early oral literacy, there is an increased opportunity for children to gain the skills needed in this area.
- Program adaptability: the program can be adapted to meet local goals as it is flexible and includes information for local parents and educators.
- Staffing: services should consider the cost of backfill in determining the cost of accessing this training.
- Supervision/coaching: ongoing support from local Noah’s Ark Let’s Chat facilitators is available.
VEYLDF alignment
Item uses these practice principles
- Partnerships with families
- High expectations for every child
- Respectful relationships and responsive engagement
- Integrated teaching and learning approaches.
Item responds to these sub-outcomes
Children interact verbally and non-verbally with others for a range of purposes.
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