{"id":115,"date":"2026-01-21T17:13:41","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T17:13:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.shu.ac.uk\/twitchefficacytrial\/?page_id=115"},"modified":"2026-03-24T13:06:30","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T13:06:30","slug":"our-aims","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/research.shu.ac.uk\/twitchefficacytrial\/about\/our-aims\/","title":{"rendered":"What are our aims?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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TWiTCH is designed to support early years practitioners to use high-quality shared reading and structured language approaches to strengthen the language development of children aged 3-4. The programme develops children\u2019s narrative skills, vocabulary, and self-expression, while also building confidence and engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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TWiTCH trains practitioners to use dialogic reading strategies alongside the daily shared reading of traditional tales. Using stories from the TWiTCH resource pack, the programme is delivered through three-week story cycles embedded within regular classroom practice. Across each cycle, children are supported through these programme aims:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  • Develop children\u2019s narrative skills, vocabulary,\u00a0 self-expression, and\u00a0\u00a0 enthusiasm for stories.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Practitioners are trained to use dialogic reading strategies alongside the daily reading.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Using stories from the TWiTCH resource pack, the programme is delivered through three-week story cycles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Engage in rich, choice-based conversations that explore dilemmas in the stories.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Explore the stories further\u00a0 through play and continuous provision, and revisit the stories and activities where needed.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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    Alongside this structured approach, TWiTCH aims to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    • Coach practitioners in the use of dialogic reading prompts and carefully structured questioning to promote meaningful, sustained conversations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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      • Build children\u2019s confidence and participation in shared storytelling and discussion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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        • Develop communication, thinking, and expressive language skills that underpin future learning.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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          • Support wellbeing and self-belief, helping children feel capable, heard, and ready to learn.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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            • Contribute to important research evidence about the role of high-quality story time and shared reading in early language development.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              TWiTCH is designed to support early years practitioners to use high-quality shared reading and structured language approaches to strengthen the language development of children aged 3-4. The programme develops children\u2019s narrative skills, vocabulary, and self-expression, while also building confidence and engagement. TWiTCH trains practitioners to use dialogic reading strategies alongside the daily shared reading of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101,"featured_media":0,"parent":8,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-115","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.shu.ac.uk\/twitchefficacytrial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.shu.ac.uk\/twitchefficacytrial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.shu.ac.uk\/twitchefficacytrial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.shu.ac.uk\/twitchefficacytrial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.shu.ac.uk\/twitchefficacytrial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/research.shu.ac.uk\/twitchefficacytrial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/115\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":605,"href":"https:\/\/research.shu.ac.uk\/twitchefficacytrial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/115\/revisions\/605"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/research.shu.ac.uk\/twitchefficacytrial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/research.shu.ac.uk\/twitchefficacytrial\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}