Oracy in Schools: What it Really Means and Why it Matters Now

The problem: what we are seeing in schools

Walk into a primary school today and you will likely see children who struggle to hold a conversation, follow a multi-step instruction, or find the words to express what they mean. This is not a small or isolated problem. Across the country, teachers and speech and language therapists are reporting the same thing: children’s communication skills are under pressure in a way that feels qualitatively different to what we’ve seen before.

In 40 years of speech and language therapy practice, I have never seen anything like what I am seeing right now. The numbers of children with communication difficulties, and the complexity of their needs, has reached a level I simply did not think possible.

This is also reflected in the data. In 2023, Speech and Language UK estimated that 1.9 million children were behind with their talking and/or understanding of words - the highest number ever recorded. In another survey, 80% of teachers believed children in their own classroom were affected. By 2025, half of primary teachers estimated up to 1 in 5 children had speech and language difficulties; a further third put the figure closer to 2 in 5. Almost all felt the problem had worsened in the past five years, making teaching significantly harder.

It is in this context that oracy - the ability to speak, listen, and communicate effectively - has moved from the margins of educational debate to the centre of it. Understanding what oracy really means, and what it takes to develop it well, has never been more important.

What is oracy?

Oracy is a term that gets used a lot, but not always consistently. The Oracy Education Commission defines it as: “articulating ideas, developing understanding and engaging with others through speaking, listening and communication.” In other words, it's about much more than simply getting children to talk. It's about deliberately developing their ability to use spoken language to think, to learn, and to communicate with confidence - and teaching them to do this across different contexts and for different purposes.

Oracy isn’t the same as speaking and listening

One of the most common misconceptions I encounter is schools believing they’re ‘doing oracy’ when what they have is a focus on speaking and listening. This is an essential part of the picture - but it’s not quite the same thing, and the distinction matters.

Supporting spoken language well means understanding the different components of speech, language and communication, for example:

• the difference between speech and language

• narrative skills

• receptive language skills

• pragmatic language skills (adapting language depending on context and using it for different purposes)

Oracy education builds on these foundational skills. It supports teachers to explicitly teach oracy skills, use classroom dialogue to deepen understanding, help children to learn to reason together, explore problems, and disagree respectfully. The goal is to embed dialogue into everyday teaching practice inclusively, so every child has a voice and can be scaffolded from their own starting point.

Oracy matters in its own right - not just as a foundation for reading and writing, but because communicative confidence and the ability to learn through dialogue are valuable outcomes in themselves. Most importantly, children we speak to also value these skills and see their importance, not just for learning, but for life.

Common misconceptions about oracy

Given how widely the term is now used, it’s worth being specific about what oracy is not:

• It’s not just about getting children talking. Talk needs to be purposeful - supporting learning and thinking. Techniques like ‘talking partners’ and ‘turn-and-talk’ are a start, but oracy means teaching children to use these strategies purposefully: to share ideas, problem-solve, and work together productively.

• It’s not about speaking ‘properly’. Oracy is not about changing dialect, speaking ‘standard English’ or insisting on full sentences. It’s about being able to use language to talk, listen, interact, and learn.

• It’s not just about public speaking. There are components of oracy that support public speaking, but they’re not the same thing. With around 75% of adults uncomfortable with public speaking, building confidence matters - but oracy is much broader than that.

• It’s not just debating. Debate is one use of oracy skills, but far from the whole picture.

• It’s not just for confident children. Every child has the right to a voice. Good oracy education is inclusive by design - building communicative confidence in all children, including the quietest.

• It’s not just about spoken language. Updated definitions of oracy now explicitly include sign language and other non-verbal forms of communication.

Why now? The policy moment

The importance of spoken language in teaching and learning has long been debated - its prominence has waxed and waned with successive governments. The current Curriculum and Assessment review marks a significant moment: oracy has been recognised as a foundational skill alongside reading, writing and maths, with a national framework now in development. The review also highlighted oracy’s role in preparing young people for the workplace and its impact on psychological and physical health in later life.

For our most vulnerable children, this focus couldn’t come at a better time. Children from areas of social disadvantage, and those with SEND, are at greatest risk of language difficulties - and those difficulties are a real barrier to learning. Children with SLCN struggle with reading, writing, and peer relationships. Embedding evidence-based spoken language approaches across the curriculum - alongside, not instead of, the focus on the written word - will be fundamental to improving outcomes for all children, and especially the most vulnerable.

What good oracy practice looks like

Knowing that oracy matters is one thing - knowing what to do in the classroom is another.

High quality adult interactions

When I go into schools that have oracy embedded in their practice, the thing I notice straight away are the high levels of participation from children. Teachers are using high-quality, responsive interactions, facilitating rich and productive dialogue with and between the children. As a speech and language therapist, I’m looking for all children to have a voice and for adaptive teaching strategies within the oracy approaches.

There are many evidence-based strategies that have a positive impact on children's oracy and wider educational outcomes, for example, where:

• Teachers and children share classroom talk more equally…and properly listen to each other. Ideas are built on to facilitate thinking and reasoning.

• Contributions by the children are not gathered to get a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer, they are used to explore and problem solve - you can see the learning!

• Children are encouraged to elaborate on their ideas, by the teacher and by each other – ‘tell me more about that idea’, ‘ I agree with Jack, though I think it might also be …’, ‘ Georgia, what do you think about what Hira just said?’.

• They are also encouraged to question each others’ ideas and justify their thinking – ‘Why do you think that?’, ‘How did you get to that answer?’.

The classroom ‘climate’ is also important. Children need to know they’re safe to express their views and won’t be judged by the teacher or peers. Children with SLCN are supported to take part with use of visuals, reminders and chunking of language. Older children may have a Talking Frame or mind map to support thinking. Talking roles can be shared to support engagement.

Use of language learning strategies

Adults can achieve high levels of participation across a wide range of language needs and abilities through the deliberate use of evidenced language learning strategies, where adults facilitate multiple turn conversations with children, for example:

• Following the lead of children to build on their ideas; using gestures, open questions and remembering to pause to leave space for children to think and respond

• Using adult language to extend on what the children were saying, giving great models to build their language, recasting what children say rather than correcting

• Modelling robust word learning strategies to broaden and deepen vocabulary

• Building narrative structures through conversation to support children to share and retell their personal narratives

The key is adaptation. Ensuring every child can take part in a conversation and build language from their own starting point. In our Talking Time programme - an oral language intervention for nursery-aged children developed with the University College London and University of Oxford, and currently being independently evaluated by the Education Endowment Foundation - we saw children with very little language joining in conversations alongside those with strong language skills, all taking part in purposeful interactions that built their language.

Structured small group discussions and exploratory talk

Opportunities to talk within small groups are crucial for building oracy skills. In our Talking Time project, these were small group, adult led sessions in the early years, with conversations facilitated by an adult around a shared story conversation or play scenario.

For older children, productive group work allows for exploratory talk to build reasoning and problem solving skills. This collaborative learning is evidenced as being an important component of the oracy education toolkit, but only if children are taught how to have a productive discussion. It’s where we can teach children the skills of learning to talk.

There is a simple, step by step approach to teaching these skills. All are important and help create collaborative group discussions that build reasoning skills, both individually and within the group:

Step 1: use a whole class discussion to raise students’ awareness of how they talk and work together

Step 2: ask students to say what they think makes a good – and bad – discussion

Step 3: pick out the most important features of a good discussion

Step 4: convert these into a set of ‘ground rules’ for carrying out effective discussions, which they should agree to adopt

Step 5: give them some well-designed groupwork tasks

Step 6: with students, review their activity at the end of each week focusing on the quality of their discussion

There is lots of practical guidance and further reading on the Oracy Cambridge website if you’d like to explore this further.

Building an oracy-rich school

Good practice in individual classrooms matters - but the schools that make the biggest difference are the ones who take a strategic approach to embedding oracy across the whole school. Where we have worked closely with school leadership teams to do this in both primary and secondary schools, we have seen the most impact. Often, we take a phased approach, depending on each school to build aspects of practice over time, building staff confidence to implement approaches consistently and effectively.

We generally take an inclusive approach to building a strategic plan including a focus on embedding inclusive policy and practice from the beginning. Through our work with schools, we've developed a framework to successfully integrate oracy into the curriculum - and it starts with four key steps.

Start with an audit

Begin by taking stock of what is already in place. What spoken language practice exists across the school? How consistent is it? How aware are parents of the school’s approach? An honest audit - including conversations with staff, leaders and where possible pupils - gives you a clear starting point and helps avoid reinventing the wheel.

Invest in professional learning

Staff confidence to support oracy education generally and inclusion more specifically is often the biggest variable. Before investing in programmes or resources, find out what your staff already know and where the gaps are - both in their understanding of oracy and in their ability to adapt approaches for pupils with additional needs. A simple staff questionnaire can surface this quickly and shape a much more targeted professional development plan.

Look at teaching and intervention together

Universal oracy practice and targeted intervention need to work together. Look at what is happening in classrooms - the quality of whole-class teacher talk, small group activities, and how well adaptive teaching strategies are ensuring pupils with additional needs can access oracy learning. Alongside this, consider what interventions are in place for children who are struggling and their impact.

Plan for consistent implementation

Consistent, long-term implementation is what separates schools that see lasting change from those that see a short-term boost. Build in clear processes for measuring progress and capturing data from the start - not as an afterthought. This gives you the evidence to sustain the work, communicate impact to governors and parents, and adapt your approach over time.

If you're trying to secure backing for oracy in your school - whether that's a headteacher's support, governor sign-off, or budget for training and intervention - making the case can be the hardest part. Download our free briefing, The Case for Oracy, a one-page summary of the evidence, the policy context and what good practice looks like, written to share with senior leaders and governors.

The Case For Oracy

 

Conclusion

The evidence is clear, the policy moment is here, and the need in classrooms is greater than it’s ever been. Oracy is no longer a nice-to-have – it’s a fundamental part of what schools should offer every child.

The good news is that the most powerful tool available to practitioners’ costs nothing. High-quality interaction. The conversations, questions, and back-and-forth of everyday classroom life is where oracy development happens. The challenge is giving it the status, the consistency, and the professional development it deserves.

We see this in our work with children who have speech, language and communication needs; Schools that prioritise oracy education are in a brilliant position to identify children with SLCN more easily – the first step to having their needs addressed. They also already have systems in place that we can easily support educators to adapt for children with SLCN to ensure they have space and time to share their thoughts and ideas alongside their peers.

If you’d like support with developing oracy in your school - whether through training, consultancy, or one of our evidence-based intervention programmes - we’d love to hear from you. We’d also love to know what you’ve been up to in schools when it comes to oracy – what have you found that works? Share in the comments below.