At Acorn Nursery, children’s communication and inclusion are at the heart of what we do. This is led by Maria, our Speech and Language Coordinator and Early Years Practitioner, who brings specialist knowledge, experience, and passion to supporting every child’s voice.

Maria holds ELKLAN Level 3 and Level 4 qualifications in Speech and Language Support, the ELKLAN Higher Level Communication Practitioner (HLCP) Award, and a Level 3 SENCo qualification. She has a strong background in supporting children with speech and language delays, communication difficulties, and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

As part of her ELKLAN Level 4 training, Maria delivered staff training that supported Acorn Nursery in achieving Communication Friendly Setting Accreditation. This means communication-supportive strategies are embedded throughout the nursery environment, routines, and daily interactions — benefiting all children, not just those with identified needs.

Maria provides individual and small group interventions, carefully tailored to each child. These sessions focus on developing:

• Understanding and use of language
• Attention and listening skills
• Social communication and interaction
• Confidence in expressing needs, feelings, and ideas

Support is planned in consultation with Speech and Language Therapists (SALT) where appropriate, ensuring consistent and targeted approaches.

She works closely with families, sharing practical strategies and ideas to support communication at home, because strong partnerships between nursery and home are key to children’s progress.

Maria also attends regular professional meetings with the East Midlands Early Years Stronger Practice Hub Team, keeping Acorn Nursery up to date with current research, best practice, and high-quality approaches in early years and SEND support.

Within the nursery, Maria:

• Supports early identification of speech, language, and communication needs
• Helps staff adapt activities to include and engage all children
• Contributes to personalised planning and next steps
• Supports referrals and multi-agency working
• Promotes communication-friendly environments and high-quality interactions across all rooms

Her goal is simple: to help every child feel understood, confident, and successful in their early learning journey.

At Acorn Nursery, we don’t just support communication — we build it into everything we do.

Speech and Language Coordinator & Early Years Practitioner – Maria Nowak- Swatowska