Teaching has become more difficult because of a rise in pupils starting school with poor speech and language skills since the start of the Covid pandemic, new polling suggests.
School staff also fear a lack of such skills are incorrectly identified as problems with maths or literacy, or as behaviour issues.
Polling by YouGov for GL Assessment found 89 per cent reported a decline in speech and language skills since the start of the pandemic in 2020, and of those, 92 per cent said this had made teaching more difficult.
Crispin Chatterton, director of education at Renaissance, which owns GL Assessment, said: “Oracy is crucial. If children lack the ability to communicate effectively, every aspect of their school experience suffers.
“Not only are they unable to participate fully in lessons, but opportunities to socialise with their peers and ultimately their life chances are also greatly reduced.”
‘Easy to mistake’ for literacy or behaviour issues
YouGov surveyed 1,021 teachers – 572 in primary schools, 414 in secondary schools, 35 in all-through schools – online during January and February 2025.
Almost all teachers surveyed (93 per cent) believe the public do not understand or comprehend the “crisis” in schools, while 76 per cent believe parents are often in denial about any speech and language issues their children may have.
Half of primary teachers think up to one in five of their pupils have speech and language issues. They report speech and language issues tend to become apparent as soon as children start school (48 per cent) or beforehand (33 per cent).
However, 46 per cent say the issues are easy to mistake for reading and maths problems and 27 per cent say they are often misidentified as behavioural issues.
It comes after the Oracy Commission last year recommended that speaking and listening skills become the “fourth R”, with equal status to reading, writing and maths.
The commission, chaired by former union leader Geoff Barton also called for better teacher training, reforms to GCSE English language and investment in expressive arts and extra-curricular activities.
Pandemic, cost of living and cuts to blame
Barton said the survey results underlined the importance of talking skills.
“Language, in all its forms, matters. And in an age when everyone is cross about everything, high quality talk and active listening have never mattered more.
“We don’t want children to be victims who are ‘lost for words’. We want to give them agency in their learning, a voice in their future.”
When asked what they blamed for the decline in speech and language, 58 per cent blamed the deterioration of conversation at home, 47 per cent blamed increased time watching virtual content and 44 per cent cited more time spent online or on social media.
Martin Galway, head of school programmes at the National Literacy Trust, said the pandemic, cost of living crisis and cuts to early years funding had “likely played a significant role in the decline of children’s early language and communication skills that they need to have the best start in school.
“Learning to talk and communicate when you are young is the foundation of all literacy skills and helps children thrive.”
