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Chattercats
- Professionals and Clinicians
- Training and workshops
- Speech, language and communication
Chattercats is a language‑booster programme for children in Reception. It uses engaging stories to introduce 3 key elements of sentence building (who, where and what’s happened), as well as concept vocabulary.
The programme is delivered through weekly small‑group sessions. These sessions are supported by universal classroom follow‑up activities and practical ideas for parents to help reinforce the learning at home. The model is designed to be sustainable, manageable and achievable within typical school staffing and capacity.
Chattercats supports the development of:
- attention and listening
- social communication
- understanding
- vocabulary
- using sentences and narratives
Following the training, practitioners will be supported to embed the approach within their setting through a quality coaching visit.
Chattercats was designed by speech and language therapists working within the Early Language Support for Every Child programme in Luton, in collaboration with education colleagues.
Aim of this workshop
- Feel confident delivering the Chattercats programme to children.
- Implement strategies to support language skills at a universal and targeted level.
- Support the development of children’s understanding and use of concept vocabulary.
- Support children’s understanding and use of sentences.
Entry criteria
The workshop will benefit professionals who work with children in reception.
Chattercats is designed to support children working at a targeted level. This means children who may have some speech and language needs but do not require specialist intervention. The programme may also be appropriate for some children who are already on the Speech and Language Therapy Service caseload. However, it is not intended for children with broader developmental needs.
Concept Cat: Teaching Concepts in the Early Years is an essential resource for running this group and is provided free for every school running the programme.
Following the online training, on delivery of the group, you will receive a ChatterCats coaching session from a member of the speech and language team.
Workshop dates
You will receive access to session plans and a range of practical resources to support your delivery. Workshops include a pack of session plans and supporting materials.
This workshop is free. If you’re unable to attend, please let us know as soon as possible so we can offer your place to others. In line with our policy, non-attendance may incur a fee.
Bedford Borough
To book a place, please email eec.beds.childrens-slt-ecst@nhs.net.
Central Bedfordshire
Date: Wednesday 30 September 2026
Time: 9:30am to 11am
Location: Online via Teams
Book on this workshop on Learning Central. Please note, this link will only work if you are logged into Learning Central.
Luton
Date: Thursday 10 September 2026
Time: 11am to 12pm or 2pm to 3pm
Location: Online via Teams
Date: Wednesday 16 September 2026
Time: 11am to 12pm or 2pm to 3pm
Location: Online via Teams
Please only book one of the 4 sessions.
To book a place, please email sue.rogers1@nhs.net
Access to resources
If you have already completed a Chattercats course and would like access to the materials, please email: eec.beds.childrens-slt-ecst@nhs.net
Last reviewed: 6 May, 2026
