NELI – Nuffield Early Language Intervention

At St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, we believe that strong language and communication skills are the foundation for all learning. The Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) helps us give our youngest children the very best start to their education by supporting the development of their vocabulary, listening, and storytelling skills.

NELI is a 20-week programme run by one of our specially trained teaching assistants. After assessing our Reception children at the start of the year, we invite a small group of pupils to take part in fun and engaging sessions. These sessions include both small-group and individual work, focused on building confidence in speaking and understanding language.

At St Joseph’s, our NELI sessions run from the autumn term through to spring, providing children with consistent support as they settle into school life. The activities are interactive and playful, helping children develop their receptive (understanding) and expressive (spoken) language, while also nurturing a love of communication and storytelling.

Impact

The results of NELI are incredibly encouraging. National research shows that children who take part make, on average, 3–5 months of additional progress in language development. At St Joseph’s, we’ve also seen how NELI boosts children’s confidence, supports positive behaviour, and helps them feel more ready to learn and engage in the classroom.

By enhancing vocabulary and strengthening communication skills, the NELI programme helps our children become curious, confident, and expressive learners—ready to share their thoughts and ideas with the world around them.