eLIPS (3-5-year-olds) – the aim of this project was the design of a language measure suitable for practitioner use in identifying the early communication difficulties associated with social disadvantage. An action research methodology was adopted in this project as part of the research partnership with Fife Council Early Learning and Childcare. The observational language measure that we produced is called eLIPS, which stands for Early Language in Preschool Settings and is suitable for 3-5 year olds. eLIPS is suitable for use with 3-5-year-olds to enable early years staff to capture observations of children’s language during play and to raise awareness of language development by facilitating discussion with colleagues The eLIPS tool also enables language support to be targeted at a level appropriate for each individual child. You can read more in our publication Duncan, Gollek and Potter (2020) and on the eLIPS website.

eLIPS (2-year-olds) – since the original eLIPS action research project , the Scottish Government has extended the provision of Early Learning and Childcare to offer funded places for two-year-olds. These places preferentially target children who are growing up in disadvantaged circumstances. Fife Council has commissioned new research to extend eLIPS to be suitable for practitioner use with this younger age group.