In order to prepare young people for their future, oracy should be the fourth “R” of education – of equal status to reading, writing and arithmetic. This is the message from the report by the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education, established to make recommendations for increased access to oracy education in England.

In the report, the Commission calls for: 

• increased emphasis on oracy education to better prepare all young people to become fulfilled future citizens and combat increasing polarisation and misinformation 
• recognition of the essential role of oracy as a building block for reading, writing and students’ academic progression through school 
• acknowledgement of the rising importance of oracy skills in an AI-transformed labour market to ensure young people are well-prepared for success in the workplace.
  

The Commission’s report argues that oracy education should be an essential entitlement for children from all backgrounds and follows Labour government signals that oracy would be an integral part of future education policy.

The Commission calls for the government to: 

• integrate speaking, listening and communication into every subject across the curriculum, as well as in extra-curricular activities 
• ensure the history and richness of the English language is a key focus of the English curriculum for all children 
• incentivise schools to provide a broad curriculum enabling children to access the value of the expressive arts and citizenship as contexts for oracy 
• make oracy a key part of the training and development of all teachers.
  

The Commission defines oracy as articulating ideas, developing understanding and engaging with others through speaking, listening and communication.

The Commission ran for five months, and received evidence from academics, teachers and leaders, exam boards, charities and experts in education policy.

OCR’s review of 11-16 curriculum and assessment, Striking the Balance, also recommends that oracy be featured throughout the curriculum and be a greater focus of school inspection in line with national curriculum requirements.