Universally Speaking is a series of booklets for anyone who works with children and young people. The booklets show where children should be with their communication skills at any given age.

You can use the booklets to find out whether the children you work with are on the right track, what helps them learn to talk and listen and what to do if you have concerns about any of their communication abilities.

This booklet has been produced with the support of Pearson Assessment.

You can also download the booklet here.

Next steps...

Based on the content of Universally Speaking, the Speech, Language and Communication Progression Tools aim to provide a relatively quick way of determining where children are against where they should be for their age and provide more information about how these vital skills are progressing.

The Progression Tools aim to support teaching staff to identify children who may be struggling to develop their speech, language and communication skills. They can also be used to track progression of these skills over time or following interventions.