Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 35
35
Accepted in Part
Implement national rollout of ELSEC and NELI with comprehensive, long-term funding and resources.
Recommendation
A national rollout of ELSEC and NELI is essential and should be accompanied by comprehensive, long-term funding and resources to meet the scale of children’s speech and language needs. In addition, the Government should undertake further work to understand where the balance of resource should sit between early years and reception in order to ensure it is able to achieve its goal of 75 per cent of 5-year-olds in England to have a good level of development by 2028. (Recommendation, Paragraph 165)
Government Response Summary
The government commits to continuing fully funded access to the NELI programme until AY 2028/29 and funding specialist early language leads. However, an independent evaluation of the ELSEC programme is underway to inform future decisions, and the recommendation for further work on resource balance between early years and reception was not addressed.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
We will continue to ensure every reception class benefits from fully funded access to proven programmes such as the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) – funding for the NELI programme will continue for a further 4 academic years until the end of AY 2028/29. We will also fund specialist early language leads in local areas to give hands-on support and training to early years educators and settings. Reception staff will also be able to access specialist early language lead support. As set out in the 10 Year Health Plan, building on the successes of programmes such as Early Language Support for Every Child (ELSEC), we will ensure that education and healthcare providers work together with other local services to plan and deliver evidence-based early interventions for children. An independent evaluation of the ELSEC programme is taking place. This will explore the overall impact of the ‘test and learn’ programme and provide a robust evidence base to inform future decisions and next steps in shaping inclusive education and early support systems across all local areas.