We need to talk about oracy—what it is, why it matters, and why it matters now, in particular. We are proud to share the final report from The Oracy Education Commission, including our findings and recommendations. We need to talk👇

As we discussed within the Commission, there’s an urgency to increasing #oracy education - helping all young people to listen actively & critically, to disagree agreeably, and to engage in democracy …

RT @BarbaraBleiman: Very much looking forward to being on this panel and sharing thoughts with the other contributors about whether/how ora…

RT @BarbaraBleiman: @JamesAFurey I’m happy to be able to fully agree on all of this! If you don’t know about it @oracycommission did a whol…

RT @RealGeoffBarton: Recap: why an #Oracy Commission in 2024 ... and where next for oracy in 2025?

But, in truth, if we’ve learnt anything over recent years, it’s that great practice in classrooms can’t be mandated from Whitehall. Instead, it’s now over to us - the teaching profession - to make it happen. Let us know your #oracy priorities, as we move from talk to action. 8/8

Now we’re talking about our recommendations at conferences, at school & trust training events, and behind the scenes with officials & policy-makers. We’ve fed into the Curriculum & Assessment Review; and will do the same with reviews of leadership & teaching standards 7/8

In October 2024, we launched our report, ‘We Need to Talk’. It was well received and led to (mostly) constructive debate about the implications of #oracy education. We called oracy ‘the fourth ‘R’ – as fundamental as reading, writing & arithmetic: 6/8

Between April & October 2024, the work of the Commission was supplemented by podcasts called ‘Commission Conversations’. The idea was to explore the many dimensions of #oracy - disciplinary oracy, inclusion, storytelling and much more. Explore here: 5/8

So in April 2024, we established our independent Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, initiated and supported by the charity, Voice 21. This is its wide-ranging and diverse group of Commissioners: 4/8

Also … last year, as Leader of the Opposition, Keir Starmer signalled that #oracy would be a key part of the Labour Party’s future ‘Opportunity Mission’ … 3/8

Revisiting #oracy in 2024 felt timely, partly because it was 50 years since the completion of the all-encompassing Bullock Report, ‘A Language for Life’, which said: 2/8

Last year, lots of us were talking about #oracy. Here’s a quick retrospective: Oracy isn’t new. A useful discussion of what oracy means and why it matters to children’s learning and personal development is here, via our ‘Speaking Volumes’ papers 1/8

Tune in to @LBC at 9.20 to hear @RealGeoffBarton talking about why oracy should be the fourth 'R'.

RT @RealGeoffBarton: As Rufus says … “Make #oracy the fourth 'R' of education”: wise words from the Artistic Director of ⁦@NationalTheatre,…

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“Young people report a lack of speaking, listening, teamwork & leadership skills, despite their importance to the world of work…The recent ⁦@oracycommission⁩ report points to solving the problem”: well said, ⁦@olidebotton⁩ ⁦@CareerEnt⁩

Skills Minister @Jacqui_Smith1: "We need to make sure that young people are able to express themselves and to engage in discussion & debate. That is why we welcome the work that the #Oracy Commission has carried out in this important area" (18/11/24):

RT @RealGeoffBarton: 'What’s wrong with wanting to dance ... ?': looking forward to this @theRSC exploration of joyful self-expression vers…

RT @Tom_Richmond: Clearly a good moment to share my recent @Inside_Your_Ed podcast with @RealGeoffBarton about why he thinks we need to foc…

One month on from the launch of our landmark report We need to talk, we’re releasing an open letter calling on the government to adopt the report's recommendations. Read the letter here 👇