Why does a high-quality oracy education matter?

Spoken language skills are one of the strongest predictors of a child’s future life chances but too many children are not given the opportunity to develop these crucial skills.

On entry to school, disadvantaged children’s spoken language development is significantly lower than their more advantaged peers

These gaps grow as children move through school. Widening from just a few months aged six, to five years’ difference by the age of 14.

On leaving school, children with poor verbal communication skills are less likely to find employment and more likely to suffer from mental health difficulties.

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