Data in the early years: learnings from Camden Kids Talk
www.nesta.org.uk/feature/data-in-the-early-years-learning-from-local-authorities/camden-kids-talk/
www.nesta.org.uk/feature/data-in-the-early-years-learning-from-local-authorities/camden-kids-talk/
In this series, we’re highlighting local authorities who have found innovative solutions to common challenges, and who are using data to better support young children and their families. We’ll be drawing out key learnings and insights to help other local authorities consider how similar solutions could work in their local context.
The first years of a child’s life are some of the most important for their lifelong development. But the systems supporting these formative years - such as the ways assessments are run, or how practitioners access information about the children and families they are working with - are not always as effective as they could be. We’ve been talking to teams who have found ways of improving these services.
Here's Cathy Pajack, locality leader at Camden, who told us how her team achieved system-wide improvements in early speech, language and communication outcomes through their Camden Kids Talk initiative.
Early years settings and schools in Camden were seeing rising levels of speech, language and communication needs affecting children’s learning, behaviour and wellbeing, especially following the Covid-19 pandemic. And with children from disadvantaged backgrounds disproportionately affected by the pandemic, existing inequalities began to deepen.
At this time, Health Visiting teams used the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) at the 12-month developmental review, which identified around 1% of children as needing support with communication. But in early years settings and schools, the levels of need being seen were higher - meaning opportunities for early identification and intervention were missing. For children who had developmental delays, there was also a gap in the support available for them outside of specialist services.
Camden shifted their strategic approach to be more proactive than it had previously been, focusing on ‘see and do’ rather than ‘see and refer’. They established a borough-wide, multi-agency focus on speech, language and communication across health, early years and schools. By spotting needs earlier, and acting straight away, Camden was able to support more children in their local area to improve their speech and language skills throughout the academic year, with children identified with concerns moving from ‘amber’ to ‘green’ by the end of the school year.
The strategy, known as Camden Kids Talk, is led jointly by Camden Local Authority and Whittington Health. Cathy talked through the practicalities of the model:
“Camden Council works in partnership with health colleagues to provide strategic leadership, oversight and coordination of the project. Speech and language therapy (SLT) roles within Camden Kids Talk are delivered through Whittington Health and funded through a grant arrangement between Camden Council and Whittington Health. At the beginning of the work, these posts were funded through the Family Hubs Department for Education funding, and they are now funded through Best Start funding. This means that while Camden Kids Talk is jointly led by health and the local authority, the senior leadership posts sit within the commissioned health partnership arrangements.
"New Family Hub early years teacher roles were also created and are funded through Family Hubs funding, specifically as part of the Home Learning Environment delivery expectations. The role has helped strengthen links with education by bringing early years teaching expertise into the Family Hubs model. It has supported stronger connections between home learning, early speech and language development, school readiness, early years settings and schools. Together, the SLT and early years teacher roles have strengthened the model by bringing specialist health and education expertise into locality-based Family Hub delivery.”
At the core of the strategy is a shared communication and language pathway, which allows professionals to work consistently and confidently together.
Cathy explained: “Our model combines early identification, workforce development, parent engagement and data integration into a single, coherent system. The WellComm screening tool was introduced at key points, including the 12-month Health Visiting review and at entry into 17 school-based nurseries and Camden’s 5 maintained nursery schools, creating a consistent approach to identifying need across health and education. Implementation was supported by tailored training for each workforce group, ensuring confident and consistent use of the screen tool and evidence-based approaches to the developing communication skills in the under-fives.
“Clear pathways were developed for children at different levels of need, including for children who require targeted early support but don’t meet thresholds for specialist services. This has strengthened the role of universal services in prevention and early intervention. We now offer targeted support to families who need it - such as Tiny Talkers, a four-week programme - alongside the Ten Top Tips campaign, which provides simple, consistent messages for parents and professionals from pregnancy to age five.
“Families are more likely to engage when support is delivered through services they already know, such as health visiting, early years settings, child minders and schools. We made use of these trusted touchpoints and built on existing relationships with families by embedding support within universal services. In this way, we were able to normalise conversations about development, reduce stigma and increase reach with families.”
Part of the reason it was previously difficult to identify trends, target support effectively, and respond at both a preventative and system-wide level in Camden was that there was limited data sharing between health and education. Cathy explained that data integration and data sharing was therefore a critical component of the success of Camden Kids Talk:
“By linking education-based WellComm data with health data, Camden is building a more complete picture of children’s developmental journeys, supporting both strategic planning and service delivery.
“The introduction of a consistent screening approach across Health Visiting and early years settings has significantly strengthened Camden’s ability to identify and respond to children at risk of speech, language and communication needs. For the first time, a shared dataset enables identification of patterns and trends across the system, supporting strategic planning and targeted intervention. This has enabled Camden to move from a fragmented system to a coordinated, preventative model with earlier identification and more timely support.
“One key impact has been earlier identification. Prior to the introduction of WellComm at the 12-month review, fewer than 1% of children were identified with speech, language and communication needs. Once our strategy was implemented, this increased to around 9% (October 2025), and we were able to provide children with earlier and more appropriate support within universal, targeted and specialist pathways. Introduction of the screening tool across early years settings led to an increase in the number of children whose speech, language and communication skills notably improve within an academic year.”
Another central aspect of implementation was workforce development. Just introducing a new screening tool would not have improved outcomes. Instead, impact comes from how that information is used to shape everyday interactions and support for children, both at home and in early years settings. Cathy talked about how Camden combined the two:
“Practitioners across sectors were supported to develop reflective practice skills, including approaches to behaviour change, improving the home learning environment, and strengthening adult–child interactions through video reflection. This has driven more consistent, confident and relational practice across services, leading to improved outcomes for families, particularly those who are most vulnerable. The model continues to evolve through ongoing collaboration, practitioner and parent feedback, and analysis of emerging data, ensuring it remains responsive to local needs.
“Practice within early years settings has strengthened. Screening within the first six weeks of a child starting provision allows practitioners to identify needs early and respond quickly, ensuring support is in place at the right time. This reinforces the shift from a ‘see and refer’ to a ‘see and do’ approach.”
Camden Kids Talk is now strengthening early identification, improving practice and delivering better outcomes for children. There has been an 11% increase in referrals to speech and language therapy, likely reflecting improved recognition of need rather than increased prevalence.
WellComm’s RAG rating assesses children’s speech and language skills as red (language skills are significantly delayed), amber (language skills are mildly delayed) and green (language skills are age-appropriate). Re-screening at the end of the academic year shows children moving from red and amber categories into green, reflecting improved speech and language skills. Whilst those initially scoring red are likely to have more persistent needs and therefore may be unable to make significant progress in a short space of time, the shift is most notable for those children initially scoring as amber in their autumn screen: 74% of these children moved into green in their summer screening.
The model continues to evolve in response to feedback and data, enabling continuous improvement.
Camden Council are happy to talk about the project, share approaches and learn from others. If your council or local authority might benefit from a similar approach, contact Kathleen Cavin and Cathy Pojack for further details.
