The chair of the Oracy Commission has said he is “reassured” the issue will be “woven into” the curriculum review’s final report, after the interim document failed to mention it.
Labour announced in 2023 that its curriculum and assessment review would embed “digital, oracy and life skills” in children’s learning.
But campaigners for a greater emphasis on oracy were surprised when the review’s interim report, published last week, did not mention it.
Geoff Barton, the former leader of the leaders’ union ASCL and chair of last year’s commission, told an event this week he had spoken to review chair Professor Becky Francis on Monday.
He said he was “very reassured” that oracy would be “woven into the final report”.
“What she reminds me is that this is an interim report.
“It’s high level. So it’s starting to say: ‘Here are the things that we’re now going to focus on’, and it takes us into the more granular bits of what I think will be in the final report.
“Oracy is a priority. She believes in it, but also the government has articulated the belief in it. The question is, how does it show up in the report? And that’s something which we would want to talk about.”
‘Get oracy into the bloodstream of the profession’
Barton, added that “even if you get the national curriculum to be referencing oracy in all kinds of places, the national curriculum isn’t a working document for teachers.
“They aren’t there planning their lessons from it. It’s about saying if oracy matters, then let’s get it into the bloodstream of the profession now, rather than waiting for the review.”
His remarks were made at The Speaking Summit 2025, hosted by Voice 21, the national charity that supports schools to build speaking and listening into the curriculum and wider school life.
Baroness Estelle Morris, education secretary from 2001 to 2002, told the conference she remained “optimistic” the final review would include oracy.
“My reading of that situation is that it is almost like a document that said what wouldn’t change. I think that was to give some stability to the future. The argument about what will change will hopefully come up in the final report.”
The commission defines oracy as “articulating ideas, developing understanding and engaging with others through speaking, listening and communication”.
Last year it called for oracy to be the fourth ‘R’ in schools – as important as reading, writing and arithmatic.
It recommended better teacher training, reforms to GCSE English language and investment in expressive arts and extra-curricular activities.
Oracy needed at time of ‘diverging’ views
Proponents of oracy say it is needed to set children up for a world of “diverging” political opinions.
Kate Paradine, the chief executive of Voice 21, said that in the “age of social media and populism, when society is more polarised than ever”, there was worrying evidence that young people’s political opinions and opinions were diverging according to whether they were boys or girls.
“The only way we will address this is if young people have the knowledge, the tools and the skills to speak to each other about their opinions, views of the world, feelings and experiences, dialogue, and feel like they belong.”
Teacher Tapp polling suggests 44 per cent of teachers do not know if they have met statutory spoken language requirements. Only 35 per cent said they met the requirement.
The survey also found just 13 per cent of schools had a named oracy lead, a dedicated leader to promote the development of pupils’ spoken language skills.
Baz Ramaiah, head of policy at the Centre for Education and Youth, said a localised approach to oracy in schools might be needed.
“There is a really rare opportunity here to turn our eyes away from Westminster and look at some of the other devolved powers in England.
“Metro mayors do have a surprising amount of power, thanks to the devolution deal. If we as a movement can make the economic case for how oracy can improve local areas, and their industrial strategy, I think that’s a really exciting opportunity for us.”
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