Inspiring Bolton’s Early Years Practitioners: Every Moment Counts in Building Literacy for Life
In Bolton, we have a vital mission to ensure our youngest children have the strongest possible foundation for early reading success. Too many of our children are not yet reaching age-related expectations by the time they reach reception, and the time to change this is now. Research shows that early literacy is essential to children’s confidence, enjoyment, and lifelong success, and your role in supporting early reading is truly transformative.
You play an important role in nurturing both language comprehension and word recognition—the two essential components of reading. Language comprehension, developed through rich storytelling, shared reading with books such as the Start well stories and a love of songs and rhymes, lays the groundwork for vocabulary development. Word recognition, supported by playful pre-phonics activities, gives children the tools to connect sound patterns with meaning.
The research shows that the most effective approach to early literacy emphasizes communication, language, and inspiring a love of books and storytelling. Your everyday practices—singing rhymes, sharing stories, and engaging children in language-rich play—are not just activities; they are powerful early literacy-building moments. Nursery Rhyme Week, starting Monday, November 11th, offers a wonderful opportunity to celebrate language, rhythm, and rhyme, which are key for both pre-phonics and early reading skills.
In your continuous provision, every song, every story, and every game that encourages listening, attention, rhythm, rhyme, and alliteration is a critical building block for literacy. Through fun, engaging pre-phonics activities, children start to develop the listening skills, sound awareness, and love of language that will support word recognition and reading comprehension.
We know that providing this kind of rich early literacy environment requires ongoing support and resources, and that’s where the Start Well consultants are here to help. If you’d like guidance or fresh ideas, or if you want to refine your reading provision, we’ve provided a confidence questionnaire to help you assess your pre-phonics strengths and areas for growth. Completing the questionnaire opens up access to targeted resources, and if desired, you can connect directly with an Early Years consultant to explore personalized support.
Literacy is the bedrock of future learning, interconnecting with all areas of the EYFS, especially communication, language, and expressive arts. Let’s make every moment count to create a literacy-rich environment where each child is inspired to engage with language and books. Together, we can give every child in Bolton the best possible start, setting them on the path to become confident, curious, and lifelong readers.