TWiTCH, a professional development programme to promote high quality adult-child interactions in early years settings. 

How do you find out more information?

For more information please view the TWiTCH Information Sheet for Early Year's Settings. (DOCX, 316.6KB)

If you have any further questions about the project please email the TWiTCH Team at Sheffield Hallam University via their TWiTCH inbox at TWiTCH@shu.ac.uk

How do you take part?

To register your interest in taking part in the project  please complete the TWiTCH expression of interest form.

Which centres are eligible to take part?

We are looking to work with 15 nursery settings from across Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and the Humber. We would like to work with a range of setting types. Priority may be given to settings with Ofsted grades at 3 and 4 and/or are located within areas of high social deprivation. The recruitment window closes on Friday 31st May 2024 however this may be sooner depending on availability.

 To take part in the project, nurseries need to:

• offer funded places for 3-to- 4- year-olds in a setting (childminders are not eligible)

• be located within one of the following Local Authorities: North Yorkshire, East Riding & the Humber, York, North Lincolnshire, North-East Lincolnshire and Lincolnshire.

• have at least three practitioners who are working with the 3- to 4-year-old pre-school cohort
• ensure there is enough room on the premises to deliver storytime
• have onsite access to a computer with an internet connection, webcam and microphone to take part in online live workshops
• have space and the flexibility to offer story time to groups of 10 children
• engage in peer observation/ reflection as part of the coach visits
• able to host 2x 3-hour in house staff training sessions with our TWiTCH Coach
• provide time for staff working at the setting to support the delivery of the programme
• after the initial training nominate a member of staff (such as a nursery teacher, room lead or experienced practitioner) to act as the TWiTCH champion who is willing to undertake additional training and support other colleagues with the delivery/evaluation requirements of the programme. 

Settings currently taking part in other Early Years Professional Development programme are excluded from taking part in this study due to the overlapping elements of the programme with TWiTCH. 

Background to the TWiTCH programme

Experts in children’s language and development have shown that when adults really listen and genuinely respond to what they say, children are more likely to engage in extended interactions and as a result develop their language. In the TWiTCH programme, we train practitioners to adopt interaction styles that engage young children in meaningful conversations to support their language development. The TWiTCH programme is based on one traditional story every three weeks and uses repeated reading and additional language games and activities to create a rich language environment.

The TWiTCH Offer

The TWiTCH programme involves two training sessions, coaching visits and the development of a setting-based TWiTCH champion. At the end of the programme the practice should be firmly embedded, and practitioners will have the confidence and skills to continue delivering TWiTCH using the stories provided or ones of their own choice. 

The training course 

• Day 1: Introduce to/review key ideas of TWiTCH as a dialogic reading approach 
• Day 2: Introduction to practical activities to support the 3-week cycle  
 
In addition, the training is supported by an internal TWiTCH champion and an external coach who will visit the setting three times across the course of the programme.  
As part of the training course, practitioners are expected to engage in peer observation/ reflection and the coach visits will support the team in developing their practice.  

Week 1: Getting to know the story 

The main objective is to build children's knowledge and understanding of the story through daily reading of the story and related activities such as predicting, describing characters, sequencing and predicting.  

Week 2 activities: Developing language through critical thinking and reflection 

The objective is to extend the children’s language and thinking through choice-based language activities that relate to a theme/dilemma in the story. In week 2, practitioners carry out three activities and continue to read the story if the children need further repetition or request it. The choice-based language activities encourage the children to make a choice, give reasons and reflect on their reasons through language such as ‘I agree because’, ‘I disagree because’. For example, the practitioner poses questions and encourage the children to choose an idea (e.g. Did Goldilocks make a good choice?), give reasons and reflect on their reasons. 
 

Week 3 activities: Embedding the story in continuous provision and focused input 

The purpose of the week 3 activities is to extend and deepen children’s engagement with the story by integrating activities and resources in the learning environment. Week 3 also provides a valuable opportunity to undertake TWiTCH activities (from week 1 and 2) for children who may need extra reinforcement.  

The practitioner manual provides four suggested activities and further activities are provided in the appendices. Practitioners undertake at least 3 activities whilst the story can be read on other days based on children's interests. 
 
Each cycle comes with a resource pack that includes: 
⦁ The storybook 
⦁ Wooden puppet sticks 
⦁ Printed cards with key phrases 
⦁ Rabbit puppet 
⦁ A selection of resources 

This project is funded by the EEF and the Department for Education's Early Years Recovery Programme (SY SPH).

Additional Information

Parent/Carer Information Sheet (DOCX, 178.4KB)

TWiTCH Privacy Notice (DOCX, 96KB)

Watch our TWiTCH information video for more information