Many of us may have the idea that ‘school readiness’ means that a child has been taught skills such as getting dressed, using the toilet, using a knife and fork, recognising their name and maybe even knowing some phonics.
As educators, we want to help parents and carers feel that their children will be safe and nourished so they can learn and develop with their friends. But it isn’t a huge surprise that parents and carers often worry that their child might feel nervous about starting school and want to do something concrete to get them ready.
Yet, when we look at the research, it isn’t a list of skills that helps children settle at school; it is their communication and regulation that gives them the best start.
Language and regulation are key to success at school
A wide body of research shows us that children with stronger self-regulation skills tend to inspire more positive interactions from adults and classmates. This means they are likely to have more high-quality interactions that increase their confidence and language learning (Pilar Alamo et al 2025). Children who have a strong expressive vocabulary are more able to understand and adapt to different social and academic situations (Bleses et al., 2016; Ramsook et al., 2020).
When coupled together, good self-regulation and language give children a strong foundation both academically and socially. They are intimately intertwined. If families can prioritise these then children will be ready for school and beyond!
What makes the biggest impact?
Activities where adults and children sustain joint attention can build both co-regulation and language; sharing a book together is a perfect example of this.
Significantly, child-led book sharing with lots of quality back-and-forth talk has a greater impact on language development than the number of words heard by a child, regardless of parental income or education. (Romeo et al 2018)
When adults connect to a child’s interests in the moment, as well as to what the child says, they are building both language and co-regulation (Zimmerman et al 2009). And it is these interactions that strengthen children’s ability to process language and learn new types of sentences (Wesler and Fernald 2013).
How can we support parents and carers?
Use the Story Talk parent/carer workshop and leaflets (find these on the Story Talk hub) to help parents understand the power of sharing books and sharing talk. Model how to use our gorgeous wordless Story Talk books with parents, so they are confident to snuggle up and have a go at Story Talk.
Make sure they know that doing this is time well spent.
My top tips:
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Let your child be the boss of the book!
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Take time to tune in to your child
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Use your home language
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Prioritise joint attention and back-and-forth talk based what your child finds interesting
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Use the wordless books as a springboard for talk and enjoyment
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Have fun together
Share the Story Talk parent page: collins.co.uk/storytalk, where parents and carers can find videos of Story Talk in action.
If we want all children to be ready to learn, we need to support the adults in their lives to see the value in building talk together, because when children can communicate and we listen to what matters to them – then we are all ready to learn together!
Charlotte Raby is a teacher, author, and early reading and inclusion specialist. She is the programme creator for the Story Talk programme.