Poor language and communication skills have been shown to have profound effect on the life chances of children and young people. Research tells us this consistently over the years. Now in its third edition, Developing Language and Communication Skills through Small Group Work provides essential information for practitioners working with linguistically vulnerable children.

It is underpinned by an approach based on developmental psychology and brain based research. The book provides clarity and repetition of key concepts at a level that this particular cohort of children require. The book now includes a section on using the power of puppets to support communication. Feedback from practitioners is that it is not only fun to run the SPIRALS groups but also highly effective in providing the support the children need.

The SPIRALS language book contains a wealth of effective ideas for activities to support good practice to develop children’s speech, language and communication development. The most powerful way to use Spirals is as set out in the sessions as an ongoing programme. Although these activities can be used as stand alone ideas to target a particular area of concern.