In this episode, Dr Shaddai Tembo and Louisa Reeves, discuss the different types of speech and language challenges. Louisa shares how a child’s upbringing can affect their early communication experiences and touches on how speech and language challenges can be prevented.

Louisa goes into detail on early intervention and identification and better understanding groups with speech and language challenges. She discusses how children with lifelong challenges may thrive earlier on but struggle later in life when they are being assessed to higher levels and the social demands are higher.

Practitioners may be interested to learn about the importance of home languages and encouraging children’s native language as a foundation to learn English more effectively. There is also a discussion on the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic, as well as signposting to support and free resources.

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Dr. Shaddai Tembo is joined by Louisa Reeves, Director of Policy and Evidence at Speech and Language UK, to introduce and discuss language and communication and highlight its value to everybody. 

Louisa explains her career journey as a speech and language therapist and her role at Speech and Language UK. She touches on the role that her organisation has played in supporting educators, families and young people, as well as sharing insightful research findings. 

Practitioners may be interested to learn more about thinking about language and communication as a core skill to help young people from all backgrounds navigate life and set them up for success in the future. Louisa also shares types of support that educators and parents can get for free to support children and help bridge the current social oracy divide. 

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In this episode, Dr Shaddi Tembo and Co-found of Dyscalculia Network, Rob Jennings discuss dyscalculia and differentiation. Rob touches on spotting signs – with the help of a free checklist resource - and putting an assessment in place, which may help lead to a diagnosis.

Rob and Shaddai discuss the importance of early intervention and support on number sense at an early age. Rob offers his future vision for dyscalculia awareness and his desire to make maths relevant, as it plays such a key role in later life.

Practitioners may be interested to learn more about multimodal approaches to mathematics education in this episode, as well as changing attitudes towards people who struggle with mathematics.

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Dr Shaddai Tembo and co-founder of Dyscalculia Network, Rob Jennings, dive into the topic of maths anxiety. They discuss how Dyscalculia can cause anxiety and the gender dynamics in mathematical learning.   

Rob and Shaddai discuss understanding safe talk and the assessment challenges for children with dyscalculia. The pair also focus on supporting parents who have dyscalculia themselves, and helping all parents try to reinforce the learnings from the classroom at home.  

Practitioners may be interested to learn more about embedding oracy within their schools, with a focus of how to do this when teaching mathematics, as well as how the Dyscalculia Network can support through their resources and information. 

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In this episode, Dr Shaddai Tembo and co-founder of Dyscalculia Network, Rob Jennings, discuss what language and number sense is, and what it means for children with dyscalculia. 

Rob Highlights the importance of concrete materials in teaching as well as touching on teacher training and attitudes towards mathematics. Rob explains why visual learning is important for early years children and how a lack of this may weaken their understanding of mathematics in later life. 

Practitioners may be interested to learn strategies for teaching mathematics effectively – including making learning fun – as well as more information on neurodiversity and co-occurrence of learning difficulties. 

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(The views expressed throughout this podcast are the speakers' own, and TTS does not take responsibility for the views and guidance highlighted as part of this recording.)  

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Dr. Shaddai Tembo is joined by Rob Jennings, co-founder of Dyscalculia Network, to discuss dyscalculia and the links to oracy. Rob defines dyscalculia and highlights the awareness levels around it, as well as how the learning disorder is identified in early years settings. 

Rob explains the long-term implications that can arise from children not being diagnosed or supported with dyscalculia, and how this can impact them through adulthood too. 

Practitioners may be interested to learn more about the importance of oracy in mathematics education, as well language challenges within the subject. Rob and Shaddai also touch on the role of digital technology in learning too and the screen time that pupils experience. 

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Dr. Shaddai Tembo is joined by Adam Marycz for a final episode to discuss success stories within oracy and touch on intervention strategies. They discuss understanding the needs and interests of children and knowing how to support them.  

Adam discusses giving children the space to interact in a way that feels comfortable to them and highlights alone time versus one-to-one interactions. They also look at how we identify that children need support and how to help them develop their own thinking and internal monologue, as well as regulating their thoughts before speaking. 

Practitioners may be interested in learning how to support mealtime and help children interact in a small group environment if they tend to be more solitary in the day. They can also take away tips to tool themselves with online resources. 

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In this episode, Dr. Shaddai Tembo and Adam Marycz reflect on the influence of screen time and how a one-way interaction has influenced how children communicate now. They discuss how videos can influence accents and pronunciations in children, as they are learning from a screen and not real-live experiences. 

Shaddai and Adam discuss fostering an environment that allows children the space to think and respond, giving them time to consider, learn and develop critical thinking. They acknowledge that attention spans have shrunk so there is pressure to react quicker, highlighting the need to teach responding appropriately rather than immediately.  

Practitioners will learn more about considering a language-rich environment to allow conversations to blossom, as well as being aware of the effects of allowing time and removing background noise to support learning. 

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Dr. Shaddai Tembo is joined again by Adam Marycz to discuss upbringings and backgrounds, as well as socioeconomic factors that affect oracy education. They highlight ‘cultural capital’ and the need for equity to provide everyone with access to opportunities and ask educators to think about what success looks like when supporting children from different backgrounds 

The conversation moved on to how far Early Years Pupil Premium can support as well as doesn’t helping parents understand the importance where support is lacking in a multicultural society. 

Practitioners may be interested in learning more about the role of resources, but only if educators are skilled in utilising them. TTS’ own Recordable Pegs, Recordable Mats and Talking Pens are examples of resources that can support the development of oracy skills if used effectively. 

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(The views expressed throughout this podcast are the speakers' own, and TTS does not take responsibility for the views and guidance highlighted as part of this recording.) 

Dr. Shaddai Tembo is joined by Adam Marycz, Early Years Education Consultant at TTS. The pair discuss what oracy can do to set up a young person for success in the future. 

The conversation moves on to highlighting the lack of awareness on defining oracy and how there is still room to build understanding. They also focus on the context behind what we say, listening, ability to participate and learn together. 

Practitioners may be interested in learning more about the oracy gap and how it isn’t being addressed, as well as how to support children and parents following the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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(The views expressed throughout this podcast are the speakers' own, and TTS does not take responsibility for the views and guidance highlighted as part of this recording.)  

Please note: When referencing the speakers views, theory and work for development of your own materials, please ensure academic reference of the speaker is cited.