“We need to talk” – the Oracy Education Commission Report

“…learning to talk, learning through talk, and learning about talk”

We very much welcome the Oracy Education Commission report and how it highlights the need for a broad and inclusive approach to oracy education.

In particular we welcome the stress on oracy education supporting all students including those with SLCN. In this context the report mentions the 370,000 children and young people with SLCN as a primary SEND related need. We would caution though, that number reflects the children and young people with an identified SLC need. Language difficulties are often hidden and many more have needs that make oracy skills difficult to acquire.

Some of these students, even if subsequently identified, would not have needs severe enough for specialist input to be available. In its advocacy of  universal, targeted and specialist support for SLCN the report highlights a framework for supporting all students. This is the preferred approach of speech and language therapy services and also our own Speech & Language Link whole school approach. This provides universal strategies, identifies all those that can be helped with targeted interventions in school and further highlights those that would also benefit from specialist input.

The Oracy Education Commission report acknowledges the pressures on teachers, calling for teacher training and development to include how to best identify and support children with SLCN. It is noted that 53% of teachers do not feel they have sufficient training to support students speech and language in the classroom. It was precisely to support this need in an accessible way that we created our Speech and Language CPD modules for teachers and TAs, all tutored by a speech and language therapist with classroom experience.

We commend the recognition that oracy education should not conflate “fluency” with “good communication” and that different forms and modes of communication should all be valued. We also recognise that communication, whether spoken, signed or using assistive communication technologies, is always underpinned by language skills.

We support and welcome the Oracy Education Commission aim of embedding oracy into the curriculum. The speech and language building blocks of oracy should be in place for every student,  these foundations are essential and must not be overlooked.

Find out more about the speech and language building blocks of oracy in our blog