By Hazel Pulley, CEO, Excelsior Multi Academy Trust
Today, 6 July 2023, Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer has said that lacking communication skills is a “major barrier for children as they advance through life” and improving the “ability to communicate” would be part of breaking the “pernicious link between where you start in life and where you finish”.
In a speech on education policy later Sir Keir will pledge to improve children’s speaking skills, as part of a drive to break down class barriers to opportunity. He will unveil a new goal of half a million more children reaching early learning targets by 2030 as part of Labour’s fifth and final “mission” ahead of the general election, expected next year.
It is great to hear a politician recognise the importance of speaking and communication skills. At the Excelsior Multi-Academy-Trust we have long known that these skills are essential if a student is to succeed in life and reach their goals. Many independent schools make oracy a priority but this happens far less in state schools as it is not currently a formal part of the national curriculum, which is a great shame as all students deserve to benefit from these skills.
Unfortunately, in the past politicians have paid little attention to oracy, it has been assumed that these skills will happen automatically. But they don’t. Students and parents need support to hone these skills and practise them. This has meant that schools like ours have to find other ways to help our primary students develop these important oracy skills. At Excelsior we believe good speaking and communication is so essential that we have made it our mission to ensure every student has a voice. We have a person appointed specifically as an oracy lead across our six schools. Parkfield Community Primary School is an Oracy Centre of Excellence, and two more of our schools are ready for assessment by Voice 21. In addition, we host the ‘Speak Up Speak Out’, an annual oracy competition to help teach and practice speaking and communication skills. The finals of this years’ ‘Speak Up Speak Out’ competition are taking place tomorrow (7th July) at the Midlands Arts Centre in Birmingham.
At Excelsior, when we work with our students and parents, we use the Voice 21 and Oracy Cambridge framework. This identifies the different oracy skills our children need to develop. The skills apply in any language, so our parents can practice these at home confidently. This is a great framework, and we’d love to see if embraced by every school across the UK. Skills such as projecting your voice, making eye contact and turn taking are key skills for children to have before they start school. We know from personal experience that when a student masters good communication skills they do better in school and in life and strongly believe oracy should be a key part of the national curriculum. We therefore applaud Sir Keir for recognising this and committing to making it one of his five missions.
About the author
Hazel Pulley is CEO at the Excelsior Multi Academy Trust which supports six schools in Birmingham. The Trust is committed to ensuring the highest standards of academic performance and places communication skills at the centre of its curriculum. Excelsior provides supports to all its schools to enable them to help their children achieve their goals and ensure they are ready for the next stage of their education. Excelsior MAT was shortlisted for the MAT Excellence awards 2023 in three categories: Employer of the year; Inclusivity; and Wellbeing. https://excelsiormat.org/
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