Language skills are fundamental to children’s achievement as they are both a predictor of future academic success and school engagement and the conduit by which learning takes place. Language difficulties have well-documented consequences on virtually all areas of children’s development. This chapter addresses how early language system weaknesses impact on the academic outcomes and quality of life of children and their capacity to participate in activities with their peers. Understanding the impact of language weakness on the emergence of literacy skills and academic abilities can inform universal and targeted interventions within education settings, in early childhood and the early years of school. These educational interventions are described and the evidence for their short-term, mid-term and long-term impact is reviewed. The chapter concludes with a discussion about what is required to harness the potential of educational settings to provide rich language learning experiences in classrooms which can reduce inequities, enable positive engagement in school and foster social-emotional well-being. If classrooms are to be harnessed in this way, schools and early childhood settings need to focus on the fundamentals of high-quality teaching practices to improve all children’s language and literacy outcomes.