Research School Network: Learning to take turns Starting to read with very young children

by Dr Caroline Creaby, Research School Director

The phrase ​‘taking turns’ is one very present in my life right now. In the most immediate sense, since schools have closed my husband and I are both working from home, but with a one year old this means we have to take it in turns to do so. We’re having to coordinate day by day to make sure we can each find a quiet space to teach classes, attend meetings and make time to do our work. Whilst one of us is working, the other is playing with our son who, thankfully, has adjusted pretty well to lockdown life. So far, the juggle’s gone pretty well. We both have the same role in our respective schools so when we have a clash, we can prioritise without too much disagreement! Our colleagues and headteachers have been really understanding and flexible, moving meetings to fit around us. This has lifted a big weight from both our shoulders. 

However, for me, ​‘taking turns’ doesn’t just refer to my present working logistics but more importantly to our son. Turn the clock back to 2017, when Sandringham became a Research School, I had a really interesting year professionally. I was able to work closely with other schools across the country also starting their journey as Research Schools, learning how they were translating evidence to their school contexts. I probably learned the most from colleagues from early years and primary. Not only did I learn valuable lessons about working with evidence, but about early numeracy and literacy also. In many ways, this was a source of personal embarrassment that I hadn’t known very much about this crucial stage in a child’s learning. Having joined the teaching profession as an economics teacher, apart from my week’s placement at my old primary school, my training and subsequent teaching experience has been largely in GCSE and A level classrooms.

I still remember the first time I listened to Megan Dixon from Aspirer Research School; she was so passionate about language and reading and in just an hour I had learned so much. In particular, a takeaway was the important distinction between reading ​‘with’ a child and reading ​‘to’ a child. I had been under the impression that by being in a word rich house, with access to books and someone to read to them, a child’s language would develop well. But I had missed a crucial point. It was not simply the act of being read to, but rather read ​‘with’ that supports children’s language and communication most effectively. Giving children the opportunity to think and talk about their reading is valuable in helping them practice and develop their language skills.

So what does reading ​‘with’ actually look like? Since school closures, the EEF have distilled their evidence and guidance on this topic into a really easy to understand ​‘TRUST’ acronym for parents to use at home when reading with their children.

– The T in the acronym for example, stands for taking turns in making predictions about the story
– The R stands for recapping ideas already covered in the story
– The U stands for using lots of encouragement to keep children engaged in reading
– The S stands for share prior knowledge & past experiences that link to what is S being read
– The T stands for tune-in and listen to your child — be curious T about their interests

What I particularly like within this framework are examples of what these conversations might look like. So, taking turns in making predictions might go like this:

‘I wonder if the little bear will get lost, what do you think?’ 

‘Do you think he’s lost his hat? I think his friend the bear might find it.’


Although we all know how to talk, I think it’s all too easy to take for granted what constitutes good talk but this guidance helpfully spells it out. 

Coming back to my one year old, how does this relate to him? In many ways, I might sound like an over-zealous new mum even trying to make a link here! Well, apparently not. Much as my son and I can’t read together yet, we can still take turns in communicating, through early verbal sounds, clapping and making musical sounds for example. What happens when we do this together, according to the research, is helping him with the rhythm of communication – that natural to and fro between people that will continue as he gets older and learns to speak. Research studies are examining the nature of talk and interaction between parents and babies just months old and relating these to subsequent language skills. For example, in this study researchers made recordings of family dialogue and identified that the number of adult-child ​‘conversational turns’ at 18 – 24 months were linked to language skills some 10 years later.

Findings such as these along with the TRUST framework have underscored in my mind how small changes in my communication can shift it from one-way to embody a richer, turn-taking dynamic. What’s particularly powerful is how these principles aren’t just for parents but are also recommended for teachers to use in any early years or school setting. If you want to learn more about this area for use at home or at school, download the TRUST framework and other reading resources, click here. To read more about supporting early literacy in schools, click here.