ACTION
The Nuffield Early Language Intervention in Preschool (NELI) is an oral language enrichment programme delivered to nursery children in the year before they enter formal education.
Building on the success of NELI in Reception, which was accessed by almost 11,000 schools across England post pandemic, a preschool version was developed to boost the language skills of three- to four-year-olds and better prepare them for school entry.
An evaluation of NELI Preschool is now being conducted in 155 local authorities across eight regions during the 2024/25 academic year. It involves 7,000 children from 318 nursery settings across England and is the “largest randomised controlled trial ever to take place in the early years”, explains Mariela Rios Diaz, research officer and project manager at OxEd and Assessment, the spin out company formed to support the delivery of NELI.
The aim of the 20-week programme is to develop children’s vocabulary and narrative skills, encourage active listening and build confidence in speaking. It is built around the principles of shared book reading and guided play, featuring 20 Nosy Crow books that include traditional tales, contemporary stories, and non-fiction.
A playful Neli the Elephant puppet leads the sessions and supports children to listen and engage with the stories and activities. “She’s an absolute hit with the children,” Diaz says. “Despite the structured nature of the programme, she sparks their imagination and is a friend to even the shyest of children.”
Children are assessed through Language Screen, an app developed by OxEd, which helps identify those with the weakest language skills as well as monitoring the language development of all children.
Fully scripted reading sessions are delivered to the whole class daily on the digital whiteboard, with physical copies of the book displayed around the setting. Special words from the book are picked out and there are lots of activities around teaching the meaning of the words. Children with the weakest oral language skills receive targeted additional support.
“Confident practitioners are the key to success,” explains Dr Gillian West co-author of NELI. “We designed the programme from the outset to be scalable, so training is asynchronous and online.”
Settings receive a box of resources which includes the mascot, books, picture cards for sequencing and character cards, which can be used in imaginative play during the small-group sessions. Practitioners also have access to a support hub, mentors and activity ideas to accompany the sessions.
“The entire programme focuses around encouraging the children to produce language and helping them pay attention and build up engagement over time,” explains West. “Practitioners watch in real time as children’s confidence builds and language skills develop.”
Oral language skills provide the foundation for the development of literacy skills and are vital for children’s social and emotional development. But many children reach school with language skills that are “insufficiently developed to enable them to benefit fully from their education”, explains Professor Charles Hulme, co-author of NELI. “Preschool provides a valuable opportunity to intervene,” he adds.
IMPACT
A NELI Preschool efficacy trial of 65 nurseries undertaken between 2021 and 2022 found children made the equivalent of three months’ extra progress in their oral language development.
Researchers at University of Oxford’s Department of Education, who published a report on the findings, found that the programme is “well liked” by trial settings. Teachers reported improvements across many aspects of school readiness from being able to attend and participate in teacher-led activities to being better able to socialise with peers.
Rachel Thomas, manager at Rosebuds Day Nursery in Liverpool, which has used NELI, says: “We generally have a lot of children that are below age-related expectations of communication and language. From the outset, we couldn’t believe the difference NELI Preschool made. As well as hearing more vocabulary spoken by children, I’ve noticed a big difference in their attention and engagement.”
Staff reported that they felt “well-prepared” to deliver it as a result of its “comprehensive and informative” online training. And settings found LanguageScreen “easy-to-use” when identifying the children who need the targeted element of the intervention. Some nurseries made NELI Preschool central to their planning for continuous provision.
Improvement in children’s confidence is often cited as one of the benefits of the programme, Diaz says. “Consolidation and reinforcing mechanisms as well as the more intimate targeted intervention sessions help children become confident talkers, with the help of their friend and confidant, Neli the elephant puppet,” she says.
Diaz says that there is also anecdotal evidence that NELI Preschool is supporting nurseries to “shine and be confident” during Ofsted inspections.
The programme’s “home learning links” increases parental engagement and supports children’s oral language in the home. “It’s such a big part of the children’s day and naturally they want to share it with parents and carers. Nurseries share the special words and activities with parents, and some buy the books to read at home,” Diaz says.
“Three nurseries report being given high praise for their approach to oral language and love for literacy,” she explains. “The structure and guided aspect of the programme, as well as the intentionality of the progression and special words inspires staff creativity.” Results from the effectiveness trial, which is funded by the Education Endowment Foundation, are expected to be published in early 2026. The Nuffield Foundation funded the NELI Preschool efficacy trial in 2021 and has been involved in funding and developing the original NELI Reception programme which shows “solid evidence” of narrowing the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged children.
