December 2024
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Previous research has suggested that pandemic-related disruptions significantly impacted young children’s language development. The main aims of this study were to explore the language skills of children enrolled in Reception and Key Stage 1 in the 2021/2022 academic year, and investigate which individual, family and school factors were related to their language outcomes at the end of the summer of 2022. Participants were assessed using the LanguageScreen once in spring and once in summer. Data regarding the children’s home learning environment and parental wellbeing was collected once through an online questionnaire. Demographic information about the children and the schools they attended was obtained from a government database. Results showed that most children achieved scores in the range expected for their age on the LanguageScreen at both testing points. Further analyses revealed that children’s total score and individual subscale scores during the summer were mainly related to children’s individual factors, with only their total scores and expressive vocabulary scores being also predicted by school’s factors. None of the family factors investigated were significant in our models. These results suggest that while most children have language skills expected for their age, some children struggle more due to individual factors and characteristics of their environments. Therefore, these groups of children will require additional support to continue adequately developing their language skills in a post-pandemic world.