One month ago, on Tuesday 25 March, we welcomed hundreds of education experts, system leaders, practitioners and policymakers from all over the UK to The Speaking Summit 2025 in London.

The day featured 10 varied and motivating sessions that probed, explored and progressed the conversation on how we deliver our mission of ensuring every child has access to a high-quality oracy education.

A wide range of inspiring speakers including Barbara Bleiman, Baz Ramaiah, Beccy Earnshaw, Daisy Christodoulou, Dame Alison Peacock, Geoff Barton CBE, Jeffrey Boakye, Kanwal Sheikh, Paul Steer, Professor Neil Mercer, Rt Honourable Baroness Estelle Morris and Tim Oates CBE, considered how we can bring about a systemic shift in access to oracy education in England. 

The topics discussed included:

• Every child. Every school. Every day
• Oracy in education – evidence, policy and practice
• Weighing words: should oracy be assessed?
• Changing the conversation: embedding oracy across multi-academy trusts
• Oracy live lesson
• The Oracy Education Commission: from talk to action
• Making oracy ordinary: transforming teaching and learning through talk
• Communicating identity: speaking from, and listening to the margins
• Why the time for oracy is now

The atmosphere at The Speaking Summit 2025 was electric, filled with a shared sense of purpose. Here are some reflections from the day:

Huge thanks to the exhibitors who joined us on the day:, Oxford University Press, Pearson, Poetry By Heart, Speech and Language Link and Oracy for Schools. We’d also like to thank our expert contributors and our vocal, engaged audience for sharing their thoughts and reflections throughout the day. Together we can ensure all young people find their voice and thrive in school, work and life.

Voice 21 is now on Bluesky

Did you know we have a Bluesky profile? If you haven’t already, connect with us here. And for those of you that were unable to join us for The Speaking Summit 2025, don’t worry – we live posted throughout the day – take a look here.