Evaluation of Early Talk Boost Efficacy Trial

Does the Early Talk Boost programme, delivered along existing practice in Early Years settings, lead to improved communication and language outcomes for 3-4 year-old children who are behind their peers in talking and understanding words?

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN62346103

Enrollment

396

Registered

2023-10-05

Start date

2023-03-30

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2024-11-04

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Early years communication and language Not Applicable

Interventions

The evaluation will be conducted as a two-arm cluster (setting-level) randomised waitlist- controlled trial to identify the impact of the Early Talk Boost programme on expressive language, and the att

minimum of 7 weeks) and the settings randomized to the waitlist control group will be business-as-usual for the duration of the trial. Following completion of the trial, the settings in the waitlist c

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. 3-4 years old who may be behind with talking and understanding words. 2. Has to be signed up for at least 2 terms. 3. Should be able to attend the sessions at least 3 times a week. 4. 3 years old and no more than 4.5 years old at the end of the intervention. Only children with birth date between 1 December 2019 and 1 Oct 2020 will be included e.g., the oldest children will just turn 4 on 1 Dec 2023 (and won’t be 4.5 until end May of that year so will have finished the intervention by then). And the youngest children will be born on 1 October 2020 and will just turn 3 on 1 Oct 2023 (allows for baselines from 1 Oct 2023).

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. SEND concerns - have significant SEND which would prevent them from accessing the assessment and/or would be distressed through completing the assessment and taking part in the intervention. 2. Diagnosed conditions e.g., Down’s Syndrome, complex learning needs.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Expressive language skills measured using the Expressive Communication subscale from the Preschool Language Scale 5 UK edition (PLS-5) at pre- and post-test (baseline and 9 weeks)	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Attention and social communication measured using the Outcomes of Communication Under Six (FOCUS-34) short form (34 items) at post-test (9 weeks)	—

Countries

England, United Kingdom

Contacts

Public ContactAlexandra Nancarrow

alexandra.nancarrow@employment-studies.co.uk+44 1273 763400

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026