Author: Liam Morton

The Oracy All-Party Parliamentary Group Inquiry ‘Speak for Change’ has today released its Interim Report highlighting its initial findings and emerging recommendations.

Proud to support and be part of the Oracy APPG’s inquiry championing the value of good speaking and listening skills and the need for oracy skills to be reflected in educational policy making and curriculum development, ESB wholeheartedly endorses these findings.

Reiterating a statement by our Chief Executive, Tina Renshaw, which is included in the report, Tina affirms, “What has always been evident to us is the centrality of oracy in achievement – commensurate with literacy and numeracy. They are the building blocks of effective learning, participation, economic achievement and development.”

APPG’s vision for oracy

The report highlights that overall, almost all respondents agree that oracy should have a higher status than it currently does.  Contributions to the Oracy Inquiry have enabled the APPG to develop six principles that it believes should underpin oracy education in all schools in the future:

• a clear definition of oracy, understood by everyone
• evidence-based policy making that recognises oracy’s critical importance
• a consistent approach to oracy in schools
• explicit oracy teaching that is purposeful, well-planned and supported
• inclusion, ensuring that all pupils benefit, including those with additional learning needs
• partnership with parents, families and communities.

In response to ideas submitted to the Inquiry to date, the Inquiry uncovers a number of possible ways forward. Please click here to view the Oracy All-Party Parliamentary Interim Report. It outlines suggestions which are by no means final, rather, they serve to summarise the ideas submitted to the Inquiry so far. The suggestions capture how the system might change, in order to better support school leaders and teachers.

The report highlights that what is needed is:

1) Better support for teachers
2) Greater recognition of oracy within policy and guidance
3) Raised expectations

The Interim Report concludes that the case for oracy continues to build. Many teachers are developing innovative and effective oracy in their classrooms. However, while most teachers intuitively recognise oracy’s value and importance, barriers persist inhibiting its uptake in schools. This means provision is patchy and young people have unequal access to quality oracy opportunities.

The Oracy APPG welcomes feedback on the suggestions emerging from their Inquiry about possible ways forward and these can be shared with the APPG via:

• Website: https://www.oracyappg.org.uk/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/AppgOracy / @AppgOracy
• Email: inquiry@oracyappg.org.uk

ESB’s Chief Executive, Tina Renshaw says: “I am delighted with these initial findings together with the emerging recommendations to pave the way forward to improve oracy education in schools and I am thrilled to continue to have the opportunity to advocate the place of our unique assessments as being a valid pathway of promoting oracy in schools.

“English Speaking Board’s assessment methodology is an authentic one in the assessment of spoken English and speaking and listening. How we assess reflects the values learned by effective communication: each learner is treated as an individual who has individual interests and an individual temperament. Clarity of communication and an ability to express thoughts simply, sincerely and persuasively, are qualities needed by everyone in this specialised, competitive world. For whatever the industrial, professional or social responsibilities are, every individual will have to inform, instruct, listen, explain, question, interpret, disagree and advise.

“At ESB, we believe oracy skills are at the heart of the learning experience. Our qualifications build confidence in learners, which is key to unlocking learners’ potential and raising achievement.  Our Speech assessments help learners to develop key oracy skills. They are encouraged to develop their audibility of voice, choice of vocabulary and use of pace to communicate a message or information effectively.” 

Please watch the video below demonstrating oracy skills.

A final report will be published in Spring 2021.

Following on from our previous update at the end of November and ESB’s decision to move all UK-based assessments to a remote, online delivery, we have now taken the decision to extend this until the end of January 2021. However, if you would prefer a face-to-face assessment in January, please contact the office to request this at the earliest opportunity: customer@esbuk.org or 01695 573439.

It is important that we continue to place our centres and assessors at the heart of any decisions and at this stage, we still do not know what restrictions or tier systems will be in place in January across the UK. We have already offered these adaptations since June and the learners, assessors and teachers found them to be valid, reliable and a positive experience.

Detailed information about each qualification, how we are adapting it, and what centres and learners need to do to prepare for remote assessments, when assessments cannot be held in person with the assessor coming to the centre, are set out in the guidance documents below:-

If you have any questions about these guidance documents or delivering adapted assessments, please email product@esbuk.org.

We are ready to work with centres to provide the style of preferred assessment, within Government guidelines, and are here to assist you in the preparation of your learners for their assessments in the spring and summer terms. If you would prefer a face-to-face assessment in January, please contact the office to request this at the earliest opportunity: customer@esbuk.org or 01695 573439.

Not only do our qualifications build learners’ confidence and boost progression and employability, but they are also built with our learners’ interests at heart, ensuring an enjoyable learning experience.

English Speaking Board (International) Ltd. (ESB International) is currently looking to recruit an IT support lead in a small future-focussed assessment business. To be successful you need to be:

– a self-starter, interested in new technologies that underpin our assessment business
– dynamic, positive and willing to learn about assessment to support the technologies that we use.

Our business is as an awarding body; creating, assessing, administering and certificating assessments to 75,000 learners annually. For us, IT is at the centre of how we create a great experience for our clients and create business processes that deliver customer-friendly digital experiences and accurate assessment outcomes.

With 25 Head Office colleagues, 70 assessors out in the field and over 450 centres with two major international clients, we are a busy and constantly evolving workplace.

The role:

• The delivery of IT support services for a variety of 3rd party technologies that deliver our assessment product outcomes:

1. SQL Server database holding centre, learner and assessment data with a web interface booking system linked to our website
2. software and hardware for Optical Mark Reader administration
3. e certification web application and specialist certificate printer
4. online assessment application
5. website

• Ensure security and storage of data to meet GDPR compliance and other regulatory requirements (educational and charity regulators)
• Be responsible for the delivery of IT support services across the organisation, including helpdesk, IT infrastructure, desk top hardware and related software, telecoms, printers and web-based meeting technology

The post is offered as a permanent, full-time (5 days a week) role subject to a 6 months’ probationary period. It is based at ESB’s offices in Hattersley Court, Burscough Road, Ormskirk, Lancashire, L39 2AY and offers a salary of £34,900-£42,000. We offer an attractive pension scheme (see job description).

Please send your completed ESB application form (CVs alone not accepted) by 9.00 am on Wednesday, December 16th, 2020.

Remote interviews will be held via video conferencing on the afternoon of December 22nd, 2020.

Please click here to view the full job description and information on how to apply.

The recent ESB assessment undertaken by members of the Sixth Form at Shropshire’s Ellesmere College is a perfect example of ESB International’s successful delivery of remote, online assessments.

Embracing ESB International’s Adapted Assessment, enabling learners to be assessed using our online video conferencing facility, the College was delighted with their learners’ fantastic commitment to completing ESB.

Navigating unchartered territory, taking to Teams to complete their ESB Level 3 Certificate in Speech (Grade 8) assessment, the Ellesmere College learners were not phased by the online assessment, showing great resilience.

The English Department at Ellesmere College, with its long and proud history of ESB success in oral communication, says: ‘Excellent collaboration, confidence and hard work were all on display as Year 13 took to Teams to complete their Grade 8 ESB examination.’

ESB Assessor Louise Fox was thrilled to witness the exceptional standard of work and was able to build a good rapport with the learners. Louise says, ‘All learners brought enthusiasm, confidence and commitment on the day. They all did extremely well and there were smiles all round! I would love to meet the learners in person one day!’

As displayed by Ellesmere College, ESB International’s assessments continue to be an enjoyable experience for our learners. Being an important element of learners’ preparation for higher education and employability, all our qualifications are built with the learners’ interests at heart.

To find out more about how ESB International has adapted its assessments, please click here.

Well done to all Year 13's @ellesmerecoll for their hard work!

Our qualifications improve literacy and #oracy and develop confident communication! ?️ https://t.co/6LU4g6iIey

— EnglishSpeakingBoard (@ESBUK) November 24, 2020