In October 2024, the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England released a landmark report: We Need to Talk – in which it argued that “alongside reading, writing and arithmetic, oracy is the fourth ‘R’: an essential, foundational building block to support our young people on their journey towards living fulfilling adult lives.”
Oracy skills are essential for success across the curriculum, and beyond it. Children’s wellbeing suffers when they can’t articulate how they are feeling; their engagement with learning drops when they can’t express their curiosity; and their ideas become lost if they can’t translate them into words, to share with others.
As they get older, young people with poor oracy are increasingly disadvantaged when it comes to high-stakes exam outcomes; work experience; job interviews and personal and professional satisfaction.
Oracy matters. And schools are in a fantastic position to develop it.
