Oracy should become the “fourth R”, with equal status to reading, writing and maths, supported by better teacher training, reforms to GCSE English language and investment in expressive arts and extra-curricular activities.
The Oracy Commission, chaired by former ASCL general secretary Geoff Barton, concluded that oracy should be embedded “throughout the primary and secondary national curriculum”, but also more widely throughout each school’s culture.
But investment in the subject must also come before any high-stakes assessment, the commission warned, to avoid the risk of testing “perverting the purpose of oracy education”.
Labour announced last year that its curriculum review would “explore how to weave oracy into lessons throughout school” if it won power.
A DfE spokesperson said today’s findings and recommendations would be considered during its curriculum and assessment review.
Barton said education “should equip young people to ask questions, articulate ideas and formulate powerful arguments”.
“However young people express themselves and communicate, we should be providing opportunities for them to deepen their sense of identity and belonging, listen actively and critically, and learn a fundamental principle of a liberal democracy – being able to disagree agreeably.
“Parents want it, the economy demands it, democracy needs it, teachers welcome it and our children deserve it.”
1. How to define oracy
The report said oracy must be recognised as one of the ‘four Rs’, and “recognised, valued, and resourced alongside reading, writing, and arithmetic as a cornerstone of education”.
An oracy entitlement should be introduced “throughout the primary and secondary national curriculum”. This should outline “the experiences, skills and knowledge all students should access and engage with to build their repertoire of oracy skills”.
This would involve adopting a “broad and expansive definition of oracy”.
The commission agreed that oracy could be best defined as: “Articulating ideas, developing understanding and engaging with others through speaking, listening and communication.”
2. ‘A whole school consideration’
The report said oracy should be a “whole school consideration embraced and embedded in the school’s pastoral, personal development, creative and extracurricular provision and imbuing its routines, ethos and culture”.
This is because the opportunity of oracy “extends beyond the tangible benefits to academic outcomes and functional skills”.
Schools should also “act as a civic space, nurturing civic values, promoting a democratic culture, empowering student voice and fostering civic literacy”.
3. Revise English language GCSE
The review claimed there “appears to be consensus that the English Language GCSE is not fit for purpose—lacking distinction, breadth and a sufficient focus on the disciplinary nature of language”.
A revised qualification should “engage students in the study of spoken language” and empower students “with greater appreciation of their own language identities and the critical awareness and agility required to navigate the complexities of language in today’s world”.
4. ‘Resource and incentivise’ expressive arts
The report said the expressive arts “create unique, authentic and meaningful contexts for oracy and expression”.
Schools should therefore be “resourced and incentivised to ensure that all students have access to a broad curriculum which includes expressive arts as a matter of social justice”.
The report also called for increased resources and operational capacity for schools in poorer areas to ensure access to extra-curricular activities that support and promote oracy is not the “preserve of better resourced students and communities”.
5. Upskill all teachers…
All teachers should be “skilled in using dialogue and discussion to enhance learning in educational phases and in subject disciplines as part of initial teacher training and ongoing teacher development”.
Training and development should be required to include understanding of speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) and “strategies to support children with these needs throughout their education”.
The role of oracy should be a “key component of leadership development in securing quality of education and shaping school culture”.
6. …but use evidence to avoid tokenism
But to avoid a “proliferation of tokenistic practice and ill-informed advice and training, teachers and leaders need to be empowered to make good decisions about how best to implement oracy education”.
“This requires building, curating and disseminating a foundational body of evidence resulting in insights, training opportunities and resources across all subjects and phases.”
Research bodies, expert teachers and subject associations should identify the features of “high-quality oracy education”, providing “explainers and exemplars of different approaches to effective implementation in diverse settings”.
7. Equip teachers to assess oracy
The report said teachers needed the “understanding and tools to undertake regular, formative assessment of oracy”.
In light of the rise of AI, schools should also introduce “regular opportunities to evaluate students’ understanding and command of a discipline through oral assessment methods such as vivas, tracked discussion (for example Harkness68), articulation of approaches to problems and verbal analysis and accounts of events”.
8. Invest before high stakes tests…
The commission warned that without formal assessment, currency and reporting there is a “risk that oracy remains sidelined and fails to cut through the competing priorities and pressures schools aim to address”.
However, this risk “has to be balanced with evidence as to how high-stakes assessment and accountability could pervert the purpose of oracy education and detract from an expansive understanding of oracy.
Investment in curriculum guidance and exemplification, teacher development, evidence and research, and the mobilisation of existing high-quality practice should therefore “precede any attempts to introduce new high stakes testing of oracy”.
9. Factor oracy into Ofsted, but inspectors need training
Oracy education should be “considered a contributing factor to the quality of education a school provides” within new Ofsted report cards.
But inspectors will need training and guidance to “understand the dimensions and attributes of high-quality oracy education and the variety of ways these can (and cannot) be demonstrated in schools”.
10. Recognise other forms of communication
The definition of oracy should recognise “other forms of communication which children and young people use to articulate ideas, develop understanding and engage with others to avoid excluding children who communicate through means other than spoken language”.
To ensure oracy education is inclusive of schools with communication needs or who communicate differently, training and support to tailor their teaching is “vital”.
The oracy components of a revised national curriculum should “emphasise the value of different dialects and ways of communicating and avoid placing undue emphasis on ‘standard English’ or ‘fluency’”.
