Director of Learning and Impact
My role: I lead the Learning & Impact Team. We set out and refine Voice 21’s approach to oracy education and evaluate the effectiveness and impact of this approach.
About me: I’m a former primary school teacher who led the development of oracy across the primary phase at School 21. I’m also co-author of The Oracy Imperative: Transform Teaching and Learning through Talk.
Why oracy? A high-quality oracy education empowers young people to find their voice, both ‘literally and metaphorically’- isn’t this the purpose of education?
Director of Operations
My role: I lead our operations team across finance, technology, people and governance to help us achieve our mission as an organisation and be a great place to work!
About me: I’ve spent most of the past decade working in the social enterprise sector in a variety of leadership roles and am passionate about giving everyone the same kind of educational opportunities that I have been fortunate enough to enjoy. I’m interested in how to build high-performing cultures and harnessing the power of data to drive better decision-making
Why oracy? Because the ability to talk is fundamental to our ability to think, and good oracy enables us to build deeper connections with each other and the world around us, whatever stage of life you are at
Senior School Relationships Officer (Data)
My role: I deliver a high-quality member experience to groups of schools across the North of England, Scotland and Jersey and harness schools data to ensure that key stakeholders are able to see the impact of being a Voice 21 Oracy School.
About me: I have worked across the arts, culture and education sector in various capacities including relationship and project management. My background is in contemporary dance with a specialism in accessible movement for children and young people with additional needs.
Why oracy? An oracy education provides young people with the tools they need to not only thrive in school but in life. Being able to communicate well is more important than ever for employability, well-being and life-long learning.
School Relationship Officer
Communications and Engagement Coordinator
My role: As the Communications and Engagement Coordinator, I am the first point of call for external communication processes; from inquiries to social media, I ensure that the right information and messaging reaches the correct audience.
About me: I have a broad span of experience, having worked for a number of environmental and education charities in roles from fundraising to comms & engagement (and even gardening). I’ve also worked in secondary schools as a literacy support specialist, and in digital marketing.
Why oracy? Learning to communicate and empathise adequately would go a long way to resolving a great many of the world’s problems.
School Recruitment Officer
School Relationships Officer
My role: As the School Relationships Officer for the Midlands, it is my job to ensure that Voice 21 schools have a high-quality experience in their time with us and really make the most of their membership. This is important not only so that the impact of our work can have the maximum impact on the schools and the children within them but also to help drive sustained engagement with us and to spread the word to more schools.
About me: I am a former primary school teacher with 8 years’ experience. I also have 11 years of experience working in the educational charity sector on youth empowerment programmes.
Why Oracy? For true engagement, learning and empowerment to happen, children and young people need to feel listened to and understood and they need to have the confidence and skills to express their feelings and opinions successfully. High-quality oracy education is the key to unlocking the full potential of the next generation.
School Relationships Officer
My role: I am the School’s Relationships Officer for London and the South East. I look after the schools in the region and ensure they have a positive experience whilst working with Voice 21.
About me: I recently completed my MSc in Criminal Justice Policy. I have a particular interest in competitive debating, python coding and have coached debating in London and the Midlands.
Why oracy: Oracy is important, particularly for students who struggle to convey how they feel, and is important for learning how to manage and de-escalate situations in school and life.
Senior School Relationships Officer
Marketing and Communications Lead
My role: My role is to showcase and amplify Voice 21’s work through a variety of creative campaigns and communications channels. This includes raising awareness of our vision and mission across the education sector, as well as promoting the great results and impact of our member schools to develop our network.
About me: I’m a law graduate with a diverse background in marketing and communications covering commercial agencies, non-profit national campaigns, and local authorities. I started out in PR and marketing for large consumer brands developing experiential platforms including the Stella Artois film programme and the Red Bull Air Race. I then moved to directing government campaigns with roles at the Department of Health and the Youth Justice Board. In 2008 I was Head of Communications for the National Year of Reading, (based at the National Literacy Trust), creating campaigns and programmes with a variety of education partners. After moving back to Kent I founded and directed the Whitstable Literary Festival which ran successfully for five years, and most recently have worked for Canterbury City Council in their cultural and commercial development team covering events, programming and marketing.
Why oracy: Oracy is the ultimate social mobiliser, levelling the playing field to create an empathetic, equal and articulate society.
School Relationships Officer
My Role: As the School Relationship Officer for North East and Scotland, my role is to ensure that all schools get the most out of their Voice 21 membership, ensuring they have a positive experience and can continue to equip the leaders of tomorrow with the oracy skills they need to succeed.
About me: My passion lies in championing social mobility at its root, in education. Prior to joining Voice 21 I worked as a Programme Director in Liverpool and Grimsby with Debate Mate Schools and was a founding member of The 93% Club, the UK’s first state-school student-focused charity.
Why oracy: Oracy and its associated skills; confidence, resilience, and empathy, are the imperative tools required for young people to thrive in the technological age. The fact the term is little known is a testament to its historic lack of prioritisation in mainstream education, as oracy skills are too often viewed as innate. Democratising these skills demonstrates that they can, and indeed should, be learned.
Head of Impact and Research
My role: I lead on our impact management: understanding the difference we make, and using that understanding to make more of a difference.
About me: I have an MSc in Social Policy and Social Research from the IoE, and a particular interest in the evaluation of complex interventions. Prior to working in Impact, I coached and judged speech and debate both in the UK and internationally.
Why oracy? Oracy underpins teaching and learning. But it also creates communities where everyone knows that their voice has value.
Head of Design and Innovation
My role: I design, strengthen and innovate our approach to teacher development and school improvement.
About me: I joined the Voice 21 team after nineteen years in primary education. During my time as a senior leader and deputy head, I specialised in designing school improvement projects and implementing development plans. I am passionate about ensuring education has a positive impact on those students who need it most.
Why Oracy? Education, with oracy and communication at its heart, is designed to provide all students with what they need to be successful now and in their future.
Impact Officer
My role: I work within the Learning and Impact team helping to assess the impact the organisation is making.
About me: I came to Voice 21 through working as a science teacher in a secondary school which was part of a Voice 21 project.
Why oracy? Having worked in a secondary school I have seen the benefit of a high-quality oracy education for young people.
Research & Policy Officer
My role: I conduct and synthesise research within Voice 21 Oracy Schools to create insights and recommendations that drive programme design and understanding of high-quality oracy education; I also use this research to help drive the Voice 21 policy agenda.
About me: I have an MA in Citizenship Education from the UCL IoE, where my focus was on the promotion of democracy in schools, classrooms, and learning materials. Prior to this, I worked as an ESL teacher with native German speakers.
Why oracy? Oracy is essential in creating informed citizens who have the ability and opportunity to use their voices to create change.
Learning and Design Lead
My role: As Learning Design Lead I evaluate and refine how we deliver Voice 21’s approach to oracy through the development of our courses and resources.
Programme Lead
My role: As an Oracy Consultant, I support schools to provide a high-quality oracy education for their students, through working closely with them to develop their expertise and strategic approach.
About me: I’m a former primary school teacher, oracy lead, EAL specialist and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher. I have an MSc in Forced Migration, and have taught in Lebanon and worked with refugees in the Kyrgyz Republic.
Why oracy? Language development relies on oracy to drive it, and teachers can and should be integral to this.
Educational Content Producer
My role: As an educational content producer, I edit Talk on Tuesday, help to plan and deliver network events and work on other Voice 21 resources.
About me: I have come from 11 years of experience in primary education; taking on roles such as EAL teacher, class teacher PPA cover teacher and learning mentor. I am very interested in mental health and currently volunteer for Shout Crisis text line as well as doing a college counselling course.
Why oracy? Oracy is important for everyone but is vital to help those students who would not otherwise have the tools to communicate, for both academic and well-being reasons.
Senior Programmes Lead (Curriculum and Leadership)
My role:I lead a team of 8 Programme Leads and together we create our pathways’ content, deliver these programmes across the country and monitor their impact in Voice 21 Oracy Schools.
About me: I’m a former primary school teacher, SENDCo and specialist teacher for children with cognition and learning needs. I have an MSc in language impairments in children and am a Phone Friend volunteer for AgeUK.
Why oracy? Oracy is our tool for learning and thinking. Through talk we build relationships and learn to understand ourselves and others better.
Programme Lead
My role: My role as an oracy consultant is to supportively work with schools in a variety of ways, in order to meet the Oracy Benchmarks and provide a high-quality oracy education for all.
About me: I am a former primary school teacher with an MA in education. I once ran a school radio show which won a national radio award!
Why oracy? An oracy education means that pupils learn the value of their voice and others, and they develop and refine this skill. They learn that their voice can make a difference.
Programme Lead
My role: As a programme lead, I work with schools to support them in their provision of a high-quality oracy education, particularly to design and implement an ambitious and context- driven oracy curriculum.
About me: I’m a former primary school teacher who has travelled and taught in Thailand and Costa Rica, with a passion for ensuring young people have a wide range of opportunities and experiences to thrive in life.
Why oracy? Oracy is a tool that is needed to be successful in work and life by empowering every young person to use their voice to communicate effectively.
Programme Lead
My role: I am an Oracy Consultant and support schools across the UK to provide an oracy education for their pupils.
About me: Starting out teaching martial arts to children, I am now a former primary school teacher and leader with a passion for giving all children the best chances in life.
Why oracy? A headteacher I once worked with said to me, “Academic grades will get you to the door but oracy will take you through it”. I use this quote as my inspiration every day.
Programme Lead
My role: As Programme Lead, I work with school teachers and leaders in the UK to transform their classroom practice, by supporting them to implement and deliver a high-quality oracy education.
About me: Former Head of Department of Religious Studies in a Leicestershire secondary school. I have a degree in Philosophy and a passion for cultivating curiosity and critical thinking in the classroom and beyond.
Why oracy?: I believe we need our young people to be curious and confident, in order to grow into the strong and fair leaders we need for the world. Oracy enables our young people to question, challenge and collaborate effectively; to build a brighter and fairer society in the future.
My Role: As a Programme Lead in the Classroom Practice Pathway my role is to support schools to embed oracy within their classrooms and learning culture. I work to empower teachers and students to harness the full potential of Oracy for learning.
About Me: I have a BA in history and a MA in disability history. I taught history, geography, and PSHE at a secondary school in North West London and taught history up to GCSE and A Level. I also worked closely with the SEND department, working with small groups or 1:1 with students focusing on life skills and literacy. I also have experience working to support those who have suffered traumatic brain injuries in the re-acquisition of language.
Why Oracy: I believe that the best lesson a child can be taught is that they have a voice and that their voice is not only worth hearing, but can make a genuine difference in the world, irrespective of where they come from.
Programme Lead
My role: As an Oracy Consultant, I work closely with member schools to establish the best strategic approach for rolling out a high-quality oracy education across their setting.
About me: I have an MA in Special Educational Needs which is a specialism I have brought to my work both as a deputy SENCo in a large mainstream secondary school and then as an alternative provision teacher and leader. My focus throughout my career has been on inclusion; ensuring that the curriculum and environment are set up so that every child can learn and thrive.
Why oracy? Working in alternative provision I saw a large number of young people who were significantly demotivated and disengaged with learning. Oracy consistently had a transformative effect on these students: it broke down barriers, inspired curiosity and built a culture of collaborative learning. Oracy is a vehicle for social equity, creating opportunity for everyone, even those with the most difficult of circumstances.
Programme Lead
My role: As a Programme Lead, my role includes providing guidance and support to schools across the UK to help them develop their curriculum to utilise effective opportunities for oracy in either specific subjects, or across various areas of the curriculum. My role allows me to develop confidence and expertise within the schools and educators I work with so they can deliver a high-quality oracy education.
About me: I am a former primary school teacher with experience in EYFS, KS1 and KS2 classes, and have worked in schools with a high proportion of EAL children and children from disadvantaged backgrounds. I also have a BA in Drama and have a passion for using theatre and drama as a way to develop confidence and communication skills.
Why oracy? A high-quality oracy education enables confidence, curiosity and community for our learners. It supports learners to appreciate that not only their own, but others’ voices and opinions are important and valued.
Programme Lead
My Role: As a Programme Lead, I provide support to our schools across the UK as they develop their expertise and strategic approach to delivering a high-quality oracy education with a focus on the classroom practice pathway.
About me: I am a former primary school teacher and leader, literacy coordinator and primary consultant, with a real passion for communication, language and social change. I have a BA in Drama, and an MA in Education. Prior to teaching, I worked as a drama practitioner empowering vulnerable adults, with a range of learning disabilities, to find their voice.
Why Oracy? Oracy is the key to all young people finding their voice; it is such a powerful tool to support mental health, wellbeing, and academic outcomes and ultimately unlock opportunities to ensure social mobility and change.
My Role: As a Programme Lead, I work closely with leaders and teachers within schools in the North East to provide support in developing their understanding of oracy across classroom practice and the curriculum so that every student has access to a high-quality oracy education.
About Me: I am a former secondary English teacher, oracy and careers champion with experience of working in schools with a high proportion of children from disadvantaged backgrounds and leading whole school initiatives. My route into teaching was through Teach First so I feel strongly about making sure that every child has access to the future of their choice.
Why Oracy? The benefits of oracy go far beyond academic achievement and employability, they ensure that every child has a whole range of social, emotional and interpersonal skills, increasing their self-confidence, resilience and empathy.
Programme Lead
My role: In my role as an oracy consultant, I support schools to develop their expertise and high-quality oracy provision.
About me: I’m a former primary school teacher and English lead practitioner. I am passionate about creating a meaningful and enabling curriculum provision for all.
Why oracy? Supporting every young person to value their voice, understand the power of listening and be equipped with the tools to communicate confidently.
Programme Lead
My role: As a Programme Lead, I support schools to develop their vision for oracy and develop their curriculum so they can provide students with a range of opportunities enhance their oracy skills.
About me: My prior career was based in the primary education sector where I started as a teaching assistant. During my time as a teacher, I developed a passion for curriculum innovation and finding ways to enhance pupil voice and choice in the learning process. As a KS1 Phase Leader, with an additional responsibility for Phonics, I had the opportunity to support teachers to develop their own practice and
provide a rich and exciting education for all.
Why oracy:
Throughout my own life, I have seen the importance of having a variety of oracy
skills to draw on to be successful in different situations. I want to ensure that all
pupils have access to a high-quality oracy education where they not only learn how
to use their voice for self-expression and to get their needs met but have also built
their confidence to speak up and be heard.
Head of Programmes (Pathways)
My role: I lead the South Team, supporting oracy consultants to drive impact across the schools in our region. I ensure all of our schools have an
excellent experience of working with us and are enabled to deliver a high-quality oracy education for their students.
About me: I’m a former secondary school MFL teacher with an interest in the use of storytelling as an approach to building an acquisition-based model of language learning.
Why oracy? A high-quality oracy education empowers students with the belief that their voice has value. It equips them with the skills needed to articulate their thoughts and ideas and to develop meaningful connections with others.
Are you passionate about oracy and the difference it can make to teaching practice and students’ outcomes? Join our team!
Click below to explore our current vacancies.
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