This has been a big year for Voice 21 and the future of oracy education. We have pioneered the development of an innovative oracy assessment tool. This has not only shown that Voice 21 Oracy Schools make a significant difference to their students’ oracy skills, but also paved the way for the development of a version of this tool that can be used by schools across the UK, making a significant contribution to the education sector as a whole.

Through our comprehensive monitoring and evaluation activities we’ve seen that our approach works. The evidence shows that the longer schools work with Voice 21, the bigger the impact:

•  Students in schools that have worked with us for over 3 years have stronger oracy skills. The average school oracy score improved by 50% when we compared first and fourth-year Voice 21 Oracy Schools.
•  Over 3 years, the number of teachers who rated themselves as confident oracy practitioners, increased from 30% to 70%.

This is making a real difference to students’ learning and life chances. Case studies in this report demonstrate the rich impact of oracy education on students, from their attainment in maths, to their vocabulary and reading ability to their confidence and wellbeing.

In only a few weeks in my role, I have noticed the impact of Voice 21 Oracy schools across our network and the ways in which embedding oracy into teaching practices, curriculum, and core routines is transforming school experience for students and for school communities. There are so many powerful quotes in this report, but this particularly struck me:

“That moment when our children realise that everyone is listening to them is really powerful. It helps them understand that they are a valued and important member of our community.” Chris Barratt, Head Teacher, Summerhill Academy.

The reason I came to work at Voice 21 is because our mission is not just to drive a fundamental change to how we educate – placing students’ voices at the heart of everything we do. This is empowering children to thrive as individuals in school and in life, but it is also about strengthening connections across whole school communities and nurturing a new generation of changemakers.

We are looking forward to working with our network of Voice 21 Oracy Schools and Centres of Excellence in 2024 to build on this legacy and to make the most of the momentum created by the oracy movement for change.