Speech, language, and communication skills are crucial to children’s overall development.  Being able to communicate, understand others and express their ideas with others are fundamental building blocks for children’s development.  Halbeath staff encourage and support all children to express their wants and needs with effective communication through a variety of activities and interactions.  All staff consistently follow and nurture children’s play and interests in a responsive and safe environment, with time to explore and develop new skills through activities such as reading stories, sharing books, singing, and talking games.  These first-hand experiences allow all children to foster independent skills.  They start to ask questions, demonstrating good listening skills as their language skills strengthen.  Halbeath staff ensure all children feel valued as they respond to the child by commenting and rephrasing what has been said.  This gives children the opportunity to revisit their learning and builds confidence.