CAL Listening and attention
Birth – • Turns toward a familiar sound then locates range of
11 sounds with accuracy.
• Listens to, distinguishes and responds to
months intonations and sounds of voices.
• Reacts in interaction with others by smiling, looking
and moving.
• Quietens or alerts to the sound of speech.
• Looks intently at a person talking, but stops
responding if speaker turns away.
• Listens to familiar sounds, words, or finger plays.
• Fleeting Attention – not under child’s control, new
stimuli takes whole attention.
• Communicate in a variety of ways, including crying,
gurgling, babbling and squealing.
• Make sounds with their voices in social interaction.
• Maintains eye contact for 10 seconds.
• Turns quickly to hear your voice across the room.
• Listens to familiar voices even if the person is not in
the room.
• Responds differently to different tones of voice.
• Turns head away to indicate they have had enough.
• Vocalises back when talked to (making own
sounds) especially to familiar people and when a
smiling face is used.
• Use voice, gesture, eye contact and facial
expressions to make contact with people and keep
their attention.
8 – 20 • Moves whole bodies to sounds they enjoy, such as
months music or a regular beat.
• Has a strong exploratory impulse.
• Concentrates intently on an object or activity of own
choosing for short periods.
• Pays attention to dominant stimulus – easily
distracted by noises or other people talking.
• Take pleasure in making and listening to a wide
range of sounds.
• Begins to point with index finger.
• Initiates turn taking games by offering objects or
action.
• Asks for favourite games using words or gestures.
• Attends to an object when you draw their attention
to it, by looking and pointing (joint attention).
Understanding
• Stops and looks when hears own name.
• Starts to understand contextual clues, e.g. familiar
gestures, words and sounds.
• Are intrigued by novelty and events and actions
around them.
• Responds differently to different tones of voice e.g.
sing-song, questioning, soothing and playful.
• Developing the ability to follow others’ body
language, including pointing and gesture.
• Responds to the different things said when in a
familiar context with a special person (e.g. ‘Where’s
Mummy?’, ‘Where’s your nose?’).
• Understanding of single words in context is
developing, e.g. ‘cup’, ‘milk’, ‘daddy’.
•Shows understanding of familiar objects by action
e.g. pretend to drink from an empty cup.
•Respond to simple familiar language in context e.g.
runs to the door when you say ‘It’s time to go now’.
•Understands names of some common objects or
pictures.
•Shows an understanding of at least 15 words.
•Recognises and responds to own name.
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Speaking
• Communicates needs and feelings in a variety of
ways including crying, gurgling, babbling and
squealing.
• Makes own sounds in response when talked to by
familiar adults.
• Lifts arms in anticipation of being picked up.
• Practises and gradually develops speech sounds
(babbling) to communicate with adults; says sounds
like ‘baba, nono, gogo’.
• Vocalises more when adults use child-directed
speech.
• Produces and copies non-speech sounds e.g. coos,
raspberries, shrieks and squeals.
• Develops and uses vowel sounds from language
used at home.
• Begins to babble by repeating a series of the same
sound
• Begins to develop and use some consonant sounds.
• Uses a range of body movements to communicate
their needs.
• Gurgles to get attention.
• Gestures and sounds change when carer responds
to them.
• Uses sounds in play, e.g. ‘brrrm’ for toy car.
• Uses single words.
• Frequently imitates words and sounds.
• Enjoys babbling and increasingly experiments with
using sounds and words to communicate for a range
of purposes (e.g. teddy, more, no, bye-bye.)
• Uses pointing with eye gaze to make requests, and
to share an interest.
• Creates personal words as they begin to develop
language.
• Begins to imitate the voices of others, especially
the vowels and ‘ups and downs’ of speech.
• Begins to imitate sounds and may copy you if you
copy the child’s sounds first.
• Produces and copies mouth movements for
speech sounds e.g. putting lips together of ‘mmm’
 • Watches and listens to others, copying some
behaviour in own play
• Attends to a picture for a 1 – 2 minutes with an adult
or independently.
• Concentrates intensely on an object or activity of
own choosing for short periods of time.
16 – 26 • Listens to and enjoys rhythmic patterns in rhymes
months and stories.
• Enjoys rhymes and demonstrates listening by trying
to join in with actions or vocalisations.
• Rigid attention – may appear not to hear.
• Attends to speech directed at them and listens with
interest to general talk.
• Follow directions accompanied by gesture, game or
routine e.g. ‘Come and sit down’ when a snack or
drink is put on the table.
• Sings along with favourite action rhymes (although
words may not be clear).
• Remains focused on a self chosen activity for 5
minutes.
• Remain focused on an adult led activity for 5
minutes.
•Begins to point with index finger.
•Copies gestures as part of a games, songs and
familiar routines.
•Responds to objects of reference e.g. keys – going
out, cup – drink etc.
•Waves bye-bye through imitation.
•Waves bye-bye when asked spontaneously.
•Stops what they are doing in response to ‘no’
• Selects familiar objects by name and will go and
find objects when asked, or identify objects from a
group.
• Understands simple sentences (e.g. ‘Throw the
ball.’)
•Are able to respond to simple requests and grasp
meaning from context.
•Plays ‘ready, steady, go’ games listening and
waiting or sometimes imitating alongside speaker.
•Shows anticipation in relation to key phrases in
familiar songs rhymes.
•Understand approximately 50 words.
•Picks up 2 or more objects from a group or of 4
objects.
•Understands familiar words in different contexts e.g.
a cup in the home corner is the same as cup at the
snack table.
•Follows directions accompanied by gesture, game
or routine e.g. ‘come and sit down’ when a snack or
drink is put on the table.
•Identifies 5 simple body parts on self.
CAL Page 2 of 5
and rounding lips for ‘oooo’
• Begins to use varied double syllable sounds e.g.
‘dadi’. ‘babu’.
• Copies and uses voice spontaneously as part of
games or familiar routines e.g. bye-bye’, ‘all gone’.
• Uses voice, gesture or actions to attract attention,
ask for things, refuse to do something, join in with
familiar rhyme or game.
• Copies symbolic noises and parts of words e.g.
‘choooo’ and later produce them spontaneously
during their play e.g. ‘Aaaagh’ when cuddling a
doll.
• Own vocalisations sound more like speech and are
recognised as words.
• Looks at the person speaking.
• Waits for speaker to finish before taking their turn.
• Uses approximately 5 words without prompting.
• Communicates for a range of different purposes
including to greet, to request, to protest, to label
objects and people.
• Simple conversations take place between adult
and child, mainly focusing on the here and now.
• Copies familiar expressions, e.g. ‘Oh dear’, ‘All
gone’.
• Beginning to put two words together (e.g. ‘want
ball’, ‘more juice’).
• Uses different types of everyday words (nouns,
verbs and adjectives, e.g. banana, go, sleep, hot).
• Beginning to ask simple questions.
• Beginning to talk about people and things that are
not present.
• Imitates intonation of what they hear.
• Uses approximate forms of words for
communication e.g. ‘mu’ for more, ‘ca ca’ for car
• Imitates mouth movements to produce a variety of
consonants and vowel combinations e.g. ‘mama’.
• Imitate words by copying some speech sounds
and the correct number of syllables
• Repeats back phrases/signs or gestures.
• Builds a vocabulary of familiar objects and events.
• Creates long babbling sentences.
• Uses at least ten words consistently although may
still be best understood by familiar adults.

22 – 36 • Listens with interest to the noises adults make
months when they read stories.
• Recognises and responds to many familiar sounds,
e.g. turning to a knock on the door, looking at or
going to the door.
• Shows interest in play with sounds, songs and
rhymes.
• Single channelled attention. Can shift to a different
task if attention fully obtained – using child’s name
helps focus.
• Remains focused on a self chosen activity for 10
minutes.
• Remain focused on an adult led activity for 10
minutes.
• Distinguish one sound from another.
•Identifies and points to body parts of others.
• Identifies action words by pointing to the right
picture, e.g., “Who’s jumping?”
• Understands more complex sentences, e.g. ‘Put
your toys away and then we’ll read a book.’
• Understands ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’ in simple
questions (e.g. Who’s that/can? What’s that? Where
is.?).
• Developing understanding of simple concepts (e.g.
big/little).
• Use action, sometimes with limited talk, that is
largely concerned with the ‘here and now’.
• Understands ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘where’ in simple
questions.
• Responds appropriately to simple two-part
instructions or requests e.g. ‘Get your shoes and
put them on.’
• Use language as a powerful means of widening
contacts, sharing feelings, experiences and
thoughts.
• Shows an understanding of prepositions ‘in’ and
‘on’, by carrying out the action when asked, e.g.
‘Put the dolly in the box’ or ‘Put the cat on the mat’.
• Will point to smaller parts of the body e.g. chin,
elbow or eyebrow.
• Follows two step instructions.
• Follows three step instructions.
• Points to 10 familiar objects when asked.
• Can give one object when asked.
• Answers simple question e.g. where’s mummy?
• Uses words to describe things such as ‘It’s wet’ or
‘It’s to hot’.
• Uses several pronouns correctly, such as ‘I’, ‘me’
and ‘you’.
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• Uses up to 20 words to name things and people,
comment on what is happening, tell someone
something, respond to an adult’s questions,
protest, and express likes and dislikes.
• Use single-word and two-word utterances to
convey simple and more complex messages.
• Gives instructions to an adult e.g. ‘sit there’, ‘come
here’
• Uses language as a powerful means of widening
contacts, sharing feelings, experiences and thoughts.
• Holds a conversation, jumping from topic to topic.
• Learns new words very rapidly and is able to use
them in communicating.
• Uses gestures, sometimes with limited talk, e.g.
reaches toward toy, saying ‘I have it’.
• Uses a variety of questions (e.g. what, where, who).
• Uses simple sentences (e.g.’ Mummy gonna work.’)
• Beginning to use word endings (e.g. going, cats).
• Recognises and responds to many familiar
sounds.
• Frequently repeat words or signs that they hear or
see with one core or more key words.
• Show interest in play with sounds, songs, and
rhymes.
• Recognises and joins in with songs and actions.
• Fills in the missing words or phrases in a known
rhyme, story or game.
• Tries to repeat many things adults say either
saying the actual word or making a close match
e.g. ‘um-beya’ for umbrella.
• Familiar adults understand what the child is saying
when words are joined into sentences.
• Repeat words or phrases in familiar stories.
• Notices a deliberate mistake in story telling or a
rhyme
• Learn new words very rapidly and are able to use
them in communicating about matters which
interest them communicating
• Uses words to ask and find out about things.
• Uses me to refer to self.
• Talks aloud when playing with others.
• Uses words or gestures to alert adults to their
needs.
• Uses 10 to 15 action words e.g. ‘eat’, ‘drink’,

30 – 50 • Listens to others one to one or in small groups,
months when conversation interests them.
• Listens to stories with increasing attention and
recall.
• Joins in with repeated refrains and anticipates key
events and phrases in rhymes and stories.
• Focusing attention – still listen or do, but can shift
own attention.
• Is able to follow directions (if not intently focused on
own choice of activity).
• Join in with repeated refrains and anticipate key
events and phrases in rhymes and stories
• Listens eagerly to stories and request favourite s
over and over again.
• Concentrates and listens for more than 15 minutes
in adult led activities that they enjoy.
• Understands use of objects (e.g. “What do we use
to cut things?’)
• Shows understanding of prepositions such as
‘under’, ‘on top’, ‘behind’ by carrying out an action or
selecting correct picture.
• Responds to simple instructions, e.g. to get or put
away an object.
• Beginning to understand ‘why’ and ‘how’ questions.
• Identifies objects by description.
• Talk activities through, reflecting on and modifying
what they are doing.
• Use talk to give new meanings to objects and
actions, treating them as symbols for other things.
• Use talk to connect ideas, explain what is
happening and anticipate what might happen next.
• Use talk, actions and objects to recall and relive
past experiences.
• Can give information about own life and favourite
things.
• Understands all pronouns: ‘they’, ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘him’
and ‘her’.
• Question why things happen and give explanations.
• Answers questions more fully, providing more than
one piece of information.
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‘sleep’.
• Uses 3 to 4 words sentences e.g. ‘Mummy gone
shops now’.
• Uses words during play and almost all activities.
• Uses words to ask for help.
• Beginning to use more complex sentences to link
thoughts (e.g. using and, because).
• Can retell a simple past event in correct order (e.g.
went down slide, hurt finger).
• Uses talk to connect ideas, explain what is
happening and anticipate what might happen next,
recall and relive past experiences.
• Questions why things happen and gives
explanations. Asks e.g. who, what, when, how.
• Uses a range of tenses (e.g. play, playing, will play,
played).
• Uses intonation, rhythm and phrasing to make the
meaning clear to others.
• Uses vocabulary focused on objects and people
that are of particular importance to them.
• Builds up vocabulary that reflects the breadth of
their experiences.
• Uses talk in pretending that objects stand for
something else in play, e.g., ‘This box is my castle.’
• Enjoy rhyming and rhythmic activities.
• Show awareness of rhyme and alliteration.
• Recognise rhythm in spoken words.
• Uses words to give to give reasons/say what they
want/play with others/direct others/tell other about
things.
• Knows when to wait while others are talking and
control the urge to butt in.
• Realises the correct volume to talk at, not too loud
or quiet.
• Use simple statements and questions often linked
to gestures.
• Can identify a picture or an object with three
critical elements e.g. ‘big girl jumping’.
• Identifies objects by description e.g. ‘the wet one’,
‘the dirty one’.
• Use vocabulary focused on objects and people
who are of particular importance to them.
• Uses words to give reasons/say what they
want/play with others/direct others/tell others about

40 – • Maintains attention, concentrates and sits quietly
60+ during appropriate activity.
• Two-channelled attention – can listen and do for
months short span.
• Listens to a story until it if finished.
• Remains focused in a large group activity for 20
minutes.
• Remains focused in a small group for 20 minutes.
Early Learning Goal
Children listen attentively in a range of
situations. They listen to stories, accurately
anticipating key events and respond to what they
hear with relevant comments, questions or
actions. They give their attention to what others
say and respond appropriately, while engaged in
another activity.
• Responds to instructions involving a two-part
sequence.
Understands humour, e.g. nonsense rhymes, jokes.
• Able to follow a story without pictures or props.
• Listens and responds to ideas expressed by others
in conversation or discussion.
• Begin to use talk instead of action to rehearse,
reorder and reflect on past experiences, linking
significant events from own experience and from
stories, paying attention to how events lead into
one another.
• Begin to make patterns in their experience through
linking cause and effect, sequencing, ordering and
grouping.
• Begin to use talk to pretend imaginary situations.
Early Learning Goal
Children follow instructions involving several
ideas or actions. They answer ‘how’ and ‘why’
questions about their experiences and in
response to stories or events.
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things.
• Asks increasingly detailed questions to find out
information.
• Extends vocabulary, especially by grouping and
naming, exploring the meaning and sounds of new
words.
• Uses language to imagine and recreate roles and
experiences in play situations.
• Links statements and sticks to a main theme or
intention.
• Uses talk to organise, sequence and clarify
thinking, ideas, feelings and events.
• Introduces a storyline or narrative into their play.
• Have the confidence to speak to others about their
own wants and interests.
• Use talk to gain attention and sometimes use action
rather than talk to demonstrate or explain to others.
• Initiate conversation, attend to and take account of
what others
• Use language for an increasing range of purposes.
• Use grammatical structures.
• Use vocabulary and forms of speech that are
increasingly influenced by their experience of
books.
Early Learning Goal
Children express themselves effectively, showing
awareness of listeners’ needs. They use past,
present and future forms accurately when talking
about events that have happened or are to
happen in the future. They develop their own
narratives and explanations by connecting ideas
or events.