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Central to the recent recommendations from the Forgotten Third Commission are calls for speaking and listening to be seen as an ‘integral part of the curriculum across all subjects’. Commissioners found that too often teachers assume students arrive with developed speaking and listening skills and do not teach these skills to students.

The Commissioners highlight the importance of modelling high quality oracy in the classroom to support student’s in learning how to express themselves, underpin writing and build students’ confidence especially if they do not experience much conversation in the home. The report cites the practice of Voice 21 as having ‘much to teach us about how oracy can be structured in schools across all phases’ and suggests that training in oracy should be made available in all schools so that teachers can ‘develop a repertoire of effective speaking and listening technique’.

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