YOUNG children’s development, following the pandemic, has been “particularly worrying”, the chief inspector of Ofsted has said.
In a report on the recovery of children, Amanda Spielman said there were “lingering challenges”.
The report said nurseries flagged babies with “limited vocabularies” and struggling to understand facial expressions.
Ofsted’s report was based on inspections of 70 early years providers in England in January and February.
The report said a few early years care providers suggested face masks were having a negative impact on young children’s language and communication skills.
“Children turning two years old will have been surrounded by adults wearing masks for their whole lives and have therefore been unable to see lip movements or mouth shapes as regularly,” the Ofsted briefing said.
One nursery said children were talking in voices of cartoons they spent so much time watching.
Ms Spielman said: “I think it’s about talking and interacting directly with children, and introducing them to the kind of activities where they’re interacting with other children and adults.
She added nurseries were reporting delays accessing speech and language therapy and mental health services.