ELKLAN

ELKLAN

 

This training is funded by the HSE NHSCP Office, and priority will therefore be given to applicants working in publicly funded healthcare settings. We expect high demand for this course. If oversubscribed, priority will be given to applicants who meet the criteria and clearly demonstrate how the training will benefit service users service delivery and/ or their service. Expressions of interest close 13th April 2026.

Successful applicants will be notified as soon as possible thereafter.

About the course:

Nurture every child’s earliest steps in communication

Communication begins long before words. This practical, evidence-based course gives early years practitioners, nursery staff, and SENCOs the tools to identify and support communication from birth to age three, laying strong foundations for language, learning, and emotional development.

You’ll gain a deep understanding of how babies and toddlers communicate, how adult interaction shapes their language growth, and how everyday routines can become powerful opportunities for connection and learning.

Structure of Course:

Over ten sessions, you’ll explore how to support every aspect of communication and language development in children aged 0-3:

  • What is Communication?: Understand the earliest stages of communication and how babies express likes, needs and emotions before words. Learn how to spot early differences, interpret non-verbal cues and respond in ways that build connection, trust and attention.
  • Adult-Child Interaction and Non-Verbal Communication: Discover the power of responsive interaction. Learn how your facial expressions, gestures and tone influence communication, and how simple changes, like pausing, waiting and watching, help babies and toddlers take turns and ‘have their say’.
  • Play for Language: Explore the link between play and communication. From exploratory play to early pretend play, you’ll learn how to use toys, everyday objects and routines to spark imagination, develop vocabulary and encourage social interaction.
  • Listening, Attention and Understanding Spoken Language: Understand how attention develops in the first three years and what affects it. Gain practical strategies to promote listening, support understanding and use language children can process, especially helpful for those with SLCN or learning additional languages.
  • The Word Journey - Developing Vocabulary: Learn how children build words and meanings. Discover ways to expand toddlers’ vocabulary through everyday talk, routines, songs and stories, helping them move from single words to simple phrases with confidence.
  • Asking Questions and The Blank Language Scheme: Gain insight into how children develop thinking and understanding through questions. Learn how to use the Blank Language Scheme with under 3s to encourage reasoning, prediction and comprehension in playful, age-appropriate ways.
  • The Language Journey. Developing Expressive Language Skills: Support the transition from babble to words and from words to short sentences. Understand typical speech sound development and learn practical ways to model and support clear, confident communication.
  • Sharing Books, Using Rhymes and Exploring the Link to Early Literacy: Discover how books, songs and rhymes boost communication and early literacy. Learn how to plan for story and song time, select the right resources for each stage, and create moments that captivate attention and build connection.
  • Working with Parents and Carers to Support Communication Development: Explore how to work collaboratively with families to embed communication support at home. Gain strategies for engaging families from all backgrounds and helping them use everyday routines, mealtimes, bath time and shopping as opportunities for language learning.
  • Bringing it All Together: Bring all your learning together to plan communication-rich environments and routines. Reflect on your practice, measure progress and embed sustainable strategies to ensure every baby and toddler’s voice is heard and valued.

Learning outcomes:

By the end of this course, participants will:

  • Understand typical communication milestones from birth to age three
  • Confidently identify and support children with emerging SLCN
  • Know how to adapt routines, play and environments to promote communication
  • Have practical strategies to coach and collaborate with parents
  • Gain a nationally recognised accreditation from Elklan Training

Course Structure and Accreditation:

  • 10 weekly sessions (across May/June, exact dates TBC)
  • Delivered online by trained Elklan tutors
  • Includes the Language Builders for 0-3s coursebook.

IMPORTANT: Please read all the following pre-registration information before you proceed to register your interest in booking a place on this course using the button that appears at the end of page

Please take the time to read the Terms and Conditions for attending CPD events. You may view them here

If you are registering your interest for this course:

  • This course is open to IASLT members and non-members.
  • As this course is funded by the NHSCP office, for prioritisation you must be working in a  publicly funded health service
  • It is the applicant’s responsibility to make sure that the training course fulfils a CPD need identified as part of their own CPD planning.
  • You must commit to attending the entire course.
  • You must observe the cancellation policy.

This event has a limited number of places, the cost per attendee is significantly subsidised by funding from the National HSCP Office, applicants must give a minimum 10 days notice of cancellation, by emailing kathleencpdadmin@iaslt.ie

This notice is required so that we can reallocate cancelled places.

Failure to give 10 days notice will result in:

  • Exclusion from further HSE funded CPD events for minimum 12 months.
  • Requirement to reimburse the FULL cost of the course.

Before registering for this event, please log in to your IASLT User (Visitor) or Member account.
If you are not already registered as an IASLT User or Member you will have the option to register as a User or Member when you click on the Log-in Button which will appear below. The process of becoming a user is free and only takes a few minutes.

When you are logged in as a member or user, a 'Register Your Interest' button will appear at the bottom of this page.

You must complete all the questions that will appear on the screen when you click on Register your Interest 

You will be contacted if you are approved for this course with a payment link.

If it is your first time to register for an event please visit our Upcoming CPD Events page and scroll down to the FAQs  which provide all the information you need about registering for an IASLT event either as an IASLT member or visitor to our site. 

Payments need to be made via the payment link provided as this is an integral step in our automatic event management system. Once you have made your payment via the link, your event registration is fully processed and you will receive your receipt and be included in other event notifications to participants.

If your employer will be covering the cost of this course,  we suggest that if possible you make the payment and recoup the cost. If this isn't possible, you may also copy your payment link and send to your accounts department so that they can make the payment by card. Please email Kathleencpdadmin@iaslt.ie if you need any assistance  or if this will cause a delay in your payment. We will be very happy to assist you or your accounts department.

Your receipt is sent to the email address that you used to register for an event. Please search your email account inbox for the subject 'Your Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists receipt' to find any past receipts.

IASLT CPD email notifications are sent from our event management system to the email address you used to register for an event. Certain email providers have very sensitive spam filters, your IASLT event notifications may therefore  land in your SPAM folder.  While we do our utmost to make sure that you receive all notifications, we advise you to check your spam folder before contacting us, if you notice that you have not received an anticipated email notification about an upcoming event that you have registered for.

Please email kathleencpdadmin@iaslt.ie  with any queries you may have about this event.  There may be a delay in responding to your query if it is sent to any other email address.

This registration fee includes administrative costs.