Talking Our Way to Learning: How Language Shapes the Early Years

Strong Foundations, Part Three: Talking Our Way to Learning - How Language Shapes the Early Years Episode of The Leadership Lens with Rachael Snowdon-Poole Series: Strong Foundations in the First Years In this week’s episode, we turn our attention to something absolutely central to early education and to the renewed Ofsted framework: spoken language. Under the renewed framework (live from November 2025), inspectors devote the whole first morning of primary inspections to evaluating Strong Foundations in the First Years — with a sharp focus on communication and language, early reading, and foundational knowledge. This episode unpacks why language is the heartbeat of learning and why it remains one of the most powerful — and most overlooked — aspects of curriculum and leadership. From the first gurgles of infancy to the complex oral sentences of Year 2, language is how children understand the world, how they make sense of their own ideas, and how they access every subject across the curriculum. It is not an “add-on” — it is the medium of the curriculum. Across this episode, Rachael explores: ✨ Key Themes Covered Why language must be seen as a core part of curriculum design, not something incidental How children’s early experiences shape vocabulary, confidence, and comprehension The vast variation in children’s starting points — and what leaders must do to close those gaps The importance of purposeful adult–child interaction in continuous provision Why everyday routines — the register, snack time, lining up — are golden opportunities for talk How to support pupils with EAL, SEND, and speech/language needs through deliberate practice The link between spoken language and writing, reading, and wider curriculum access How language bridges early years into Key Stage 1, and why transition must be precise, not broad How religious education, science, geography and other subjects rely on rich vocabulary How intentional adult modelling builds children’s conceptual understanding Why Ofsted’s renewed framework places such weight on spoken language as part of Strong Foundations This is an episode filled with practical examples, leadership reflection, and the deep moral purpose that underpins your leadership and your podcast. 🎧 Where to Listen (Free) You can listen to The Leadership Lens free on: Spotify Apple Podcasts Amazon Music Or via Kajabi: https://tinyurl.com/theleadershiplensfree ⭐ Premium Membership: What You Receive for £11/month If you’d like to go deeper, The Leadership Lens Premium Member Hub offers exclusive tools, CPD packs, scripts and leadership resources aligned to each episode. This week, Premium Members receive: 🧰 The Language-Rich Routines Toolkit A beautifully structured, two-page guide that helps leaders and practitioners transform everyday routines into powerful, high-impact opportunities for language development. It includes: Practical scripts and sentence stems for adults High-impact language-building strategies for daily routines Examples of how to strengthen talk during register, snack time, transitions, outdoor learning, story time and continuous provision Inclusion strategies for pupils with EAL, speech and language needs, and SEND Leadership prompts to help you evaluate the consistency and quality of talk across EYFS and KS1 Ways to evidence this work under the renewed Ofsted framework’s focus on Strong Foundations This resource supports: ✔ curriculum enactment ✔ early language strategy ✔ staff training ✔ inspection preparation ✔ transition conversations ✔ SEND and EAL provision ✔ high-quality interaction in provision ✔ building a genuinely language-rich culture All Premium members gain instant access to this toolkit plus every previous premium resource and all future releases — for £11 per month. 👉 Join here: https://tinyurl.com/theleadershiplenspremium 💬 Why The Leadership Lens Exists Rachael created The Leadership Lens because school leaders deserve: clarity instead of overwhelm reassurance instead of alarmism practical tools instead of theory alone confidence when navigating inspection and a trusted voice cutting through the noise This episode — and the premium toolkit — exist to help leaders create environments where children not only learn to speak, but learn to think, to connect, to understand their world, and to thrive.