Oracy takes centre stage at The Great Oracy Exhibition 2026
ESB International was delighted to exhibit at The Great Oracy Exhibition on Wednesday 14 October, joining educators, school leaders and organisations from across the country to celebrate the importance of speaking and listening in education.
Hosted by Voice 21 at Birmingham’s International Convention Centre, the event brought together the oracy community to share ideas, explore best practice and champion the importance of giving every learner a voice.
We would like to extend our congratulations and thanks to Voice 21 for organising another fantastic event, providing an invaluable opportunity for educators and organisations to connect, collaborate and share their commitment to improving oracy education.
ESB International’s delegation was comprised of Head of Commercial, Jonathan Smith, Senior Assessor for Oracy, Lauren Kearney (pictured right) and Senior Customer Experience Officer, Georgie Anderson (pictured left), who ran ESB’s stand in the exhibition area.
Putting oracy at the heart of education
For ESB International, it is incredibly encouraging to see oracy taking centre stage in the national education conversation.
Speaking and listening underpin learning across the curriculum. Whether presenting ideas, contributing to discussions, debating different perspectives or preparing for employment, the ability to communicate confidently and effectively is a skill that learners will carry throughout their lives.
As a specialist awarding organisation championing spoken communication since 1953, ESB International is proud to be part of the wider movement advocating for greater recognition of oracy in education.
Our position is simple: if speaking and listening are fundamental skills, they deserve to be assessed and recognised just like reading, writing and other core areas of learning.
Why assessing oracy matters
Teaching oracy is essential, but we believe that meaningful assessment and recognition are equally important.
Just as schools assess progress in literacy and numeracy, assessing speaking and listening provides an opportunity to recognise learners’ achievements, identify areas for development and demonstrate progression over time.
ESB International’s qualifications provide a structured approach to developing and recognising these skills, with most of its oracy qualifications benefiting from independent external assessment by trained and standardised assessors.
This approach allows schools to:
- Recognise achievement: Give learners meaningful recognition for their speaking and listening skills.
- Demonstrate progression: Provide tangible evidence of communication skills developing over time.
- Celebrate every learner’s voice: Recognise different forms of communication and provide opportunities for learners with diverse needs to succeed.
- Support teachers: Benefit from professional assessment and personalised feedback without adding unnecessary pressure to teaching workloads.
Assessment should not simply measure what learners can do. It should also give them the confidence, motivation and recognition to continue developing their voice.
Supporting schools at every stage
Throughout The Great Oracy Exhibition, we were proud to showcase our portfolio of oracy qualifications, supporting learners from Early Years through to secondary, post-16 and specialist SEND settings.
Our qualifications are designed to complement existing teaching and can be embedded across the curriculum, delivered through dedicated oracy units or incorporated into enrichment and extracurricular activities.
We were also pleased to promote My Voice, our new suite of primary oracy qualifications. Designed to make the assessment and recognition of speaking and listening more accessible, My Voice allows trained school staff to assess learners through everyday classroom activities, with external moderation provided by ESB International.
Together with our established qualifications in speech, debating and employability, this provides schools with flexible pathways for helping learners develop and demonstrate their communication skills.
Discover how ESB International can support your school
The Great Oracy Exhibition was an important reminder of the enthusiasm, expertise and commitment that exists across the education sector to strengthen oracy provision.
We are thrilled to see speaking and listening receiving the attention they deserve and look forward to continuing our work alongside educators, partners and organisations, including Voice 21, who share our ambition to ensure every learner has the opportunity to be heard.
As the conversation around oracy continues to grow, ESB International will continue to champion the importance of not only teaching these essential skills, but assessing, recognising and celebrating them.
Thank you once again to Voice 21 and everyone who contributed to such an inspiring event.