Author: Liam Morton

On behalf of the staff and trustees of English Speaking Board we send our heartfelt condolences, love and support to all those who are facing loss and heartache and those who are beginning a long road to recovery due to yesterday’s senseless attack. For 55 of our 70 years English Speaking Board was based in Southport and we were founded by two local residents. We remain a local business now in Ormskirk and have staff who are Southport residents. As an organisation working with children to build confidence we cannot comprehend what has happened as they did something that brought them joy and we stand together in support of our community and particularly the schools of those children affected. We offer our help in the days to come to support the local children and their schools affected in any way by yesterday’s tragic and devastating event.

Tina Renshaw CEO

English Speaking Board (International) Ltd. (ESB) and national social mobility charity, Villiers Park Educational Trust, continue to work together to reinforce their long-term aim to equip young individuals with essential speaking and listening skills to empower them to look to the future with confidence.

Over the past two years, ESB has been collaborating with Villiers Park to enhance the academic outcomes and personal development of under-represented young people aged 14-19.

ESB’s Outreach Campaign has made it possible for learners from Villiers Park partner schools to complete ESB’s unique oracy qualifications, designed to equip individuals with essential skills required to thrive in today’s competitive world.

ESB’s Chief Executive says:

We are excited to continue strengthening our ongoing collaboration with Villiers Park. ESB and Villiers Park share a common ethos, focused on providing equal opportunities for young people to excel in school, university, and in their career.

The power of human connection and finding your voice is central to what we do at ESB. We believe that the potential of every child and young person to communicate effectively, to find the right words to convey their thoughts, voice their fears, challenges, ideas and hopes, ask questions, and challenge people in power, is essential in today’s world. ESB assessments encourage social mobility and promote learners’ confidence – preparing them for independence in the real world. Learners have the opportunity to complete a bespoke qualification specific to their life goals and competencies. We are so honoured to have the chance to work with these incredible young individuals through Villiers Park.

Which Oracy qualifications did Villiers Park support their young people to achieve this academic year?

ESB Level 1 Award in Debating

Year 8 learners from Lawn Manor Academy in Swindon successfully completed ESB’s Level 1 Award in Debating, to develop employability skills such as critical thinking, teamwork and leadership. ESB’s suite of Debating qualifications help learners to build and deliver arguments, manage timing, and signpost and link work.

ESB Level 2 Certificate in Speech – Speech for Employability

Learners from Lawn Manor Academy and Lydiard Park Academy in Swindon, all worked diligently to complete their Level 2 Certificate in Speech for Employability qualification, honing their skills in communication with practice interviews and telephone calls. Learners also developed valuable employability skills, by creating their own CVs and presentations. They all received distinctions.

ESB Entry Level Award in Inspiring Confidence in Employability

Learners from Crowdys Hill School, a special educational needs school located in Swindon, catering for learners aged 4 to 19 years of age, have successfully completed ESB’s Entry Level Award in Inspiring Confidence in Employability. This qualification is aimed at learners with learning or physical difficulties and is designed to develop key  skills for entry into employment. Many of these young people are now moving onto supported internships.

The positive impact of ESB’s qualifications on learners developing key communication and employability skills was demonstrated in two Evaluation Reports produced by Villiers Park:

Impact of ESB Level 1 Award in Debating

Impact of ESB Level 2 Certificate in Speech – Speech for Employability

Villiers Park commented that this was the overall impact of the ESB Level 2 Certificate in Speech (Grade 4):

“Through ESB Level 2 Certificate in Speech(Grade 4) and Speech for Employability young people developed confidence to express themselves and share their personal stories about who they are and what they want in the future. This is confidence that they take back into the classroom, with self-belief to more actively participate in class and feel empowered about their future learning and pathways.”

Adds Tina:

Congratulations to all learners on your amazing achievements. Villiers Park learners will continue to complete our oracy qualifications, and we are thrilled to announce that some of their young people and adults are also planning to complete our ESOL Skills for Life qualifications later this year. I so look forward to having the opportunity to equip more people who come from marginalised groups, with essential oracy and English language skills. We are also excited that Oracy is now on our new Government’s agenda as they have recognised the life long impact of speaking and listening skills for achievement and personal development.

Gaby Sumner, Villiers Park Chief Executive said:

Huge congratulations to all who took part. These accomplishments not only enhance speaking and listening skills, but also build a strong foundation for success in other areas of their lives. The self-belief, critical thinking, and leadership skills gained through the ESB qualifications empower our young people, supporting them to pursue their future ambitions with confidence. We are proud of their dedication and look forward to seeing them thrive in our programmes and beyond.

About Villiers Park Educational Trust

Villiers Park is a national social mobility charity working in areas with historically low access to higher education and career opportunities. We deliver evidence-informed programmes that develop personal and employability skills and raise academic outcomes for young people aged 11-19 from under-represented backgrounds. Our core programme, Future Leaders, is underpinned by the ‘possible selves’ theory and uses one to one coaching, to give young people agency and develop skills and knowledge to confidently pursue future educational and career pathways.

About English Speaking Board (International) Ltd

English Speaking Board (International) Ltd, the ‘Awarding Organisation of the Year 2023’ according to Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB) , has over 70 years’ expertise in awarding accredited Oracy and English language qualifications. Our certificates are recognised by headteachers as a ‘A golden ticket to social mobility and life-long success’.

Our unique, person-centred, external Oracy assessment model brings professional assessors to organisations to facilitate confidence-building speaking and listening assessments. They take place in supportive group settings and are mapped to national curriculum standards, whilst our employability qualifications can be used towards the Gatsby benchmarking framework. ESB qualifications are available from Early Years to Key Stage 5/Post 16 – post 16 learners can earn up to 30 UCAS points. We support over 200 schools and colleges, charities and Not for Profit organisations in the UK and internationally. We also assess over 40,000 learners each year, to develop the knowledge and skills of their communities, to have lifelong confidence to connect with people through communication, and to find their voice. 

What is the impact of an ESB externally assessed oracy qualification?

ESB’s published research from our most disadvantaged primary and secondary schools demonstrates an impact score of 9/10 and 8/10 respectively. This highlights the huge impact ESB qualifications have on the Oracy skills of its learners, particularly in areas such as articulation, focus, ability to collaborate and engage with peers, and group work skills.

Impact at Primary Level

Teachers told us that:

• ESB qualifications have had a huge impact on the speaking and listening skills of their learners in the wake of the pandemic, with a 9/10 impact score.
• Learners spoke with an increasing command of standard English.
• Learners were judged to be far more competent and confident in their ability to gain and maintain the interest of their peers and to stay on topic and respond.
• Learners improved their group work skills.
• Learners also said that they were much happier to read in class after they had completed the assessment.

Impact at Secondary Level

• 62% of learners told us that the qualifications improved their ability to work well in a group and helped them to stay focused and to collaborate with others.
• Teachers said that the impact of completing these qualifications in a post-pandemic world was of significance for these young people, with an 8/10 impact score.
• Learners also felt they improved their ability to speak confidently, audibly and fluently, enhanced their vocabulary to articulate better, and improved their own abilities and targets.

You can read our full National Impact Report here: ESB-INFO-C70-Oracy-Assessment-Impact-Report-2021-22-v1.pdf (esbuk.org) 

If, like Villiers Park, you work with young people from under-represented backgrounds and share our belief in the power of oracy and communications, please get in touch. We would love to hear from you. Please email business@esbuk.org.

English Speaking Board (International) Ltd., an Awarding Organisation with over 70 years of expertise in offering oracy and English language qualifications, endorses the new Labour government’s pledge to prioritise oracy as a crucial part of a child’s education and to ensure that all young people have access to the opportunities they deserve.

In the Labour Party’s manifesto, Sir Keir Starmer has pledged to embed Speaking into the education system as an essential skill, acknowledging the importance of supporting every child in finding their voice.

The manifesto states: ‘Developing early communication skills is a key foundation for life, with serious knock-on consequences when development is delayed. Labour will fund evidence-based early-language interventions in primary schools, so that every child can find their voice.’

In her first speech to the Department of Education, the new Secretary State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, has said: ‘Together, we’ll deliver change: the best start in life for every child, high & rising standards and a country where background is no barrier.’

ESB’s Chief Executive, Tina Renshaw, says:

It’s fantastic to see that teaching of speaking and listening skills – oracy – is being recognised as a priority in education. ESB has been successfully providing oracy qualifications to learners for 70 years with a unique, child-centred, group-based approach to speaking and listening and is confident of its impact on promoting oracy in schools.

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, every individual will have to inform, instruct, listen, explain, question, interpret, disagree and advise.

Findings from our National Impact Report demonstrate that external oracy assessment taken in peer groups can play a valuable part in developing young people’s speaking and listening skills by creating communication-rich situations, which reflect best practice classroom group learning; signpost post-16 and higher education group projects and seminars, and model an interactive, discursive workplace. 

With our oracy qualifications being accessible to many of our learners who may describe themselves as neurodivergent, we’re excited to see the impact of the promise made by the government to improve inclusivity for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. We all want to be seen, be heard and understood, for our strengths to be appreciated, and for barriers to learning to be removed. We are also looking forward to seeing how the government’s focus on transforming FE Colleges to support young people with better job opportunities will benefit our learners in these settings.

What is the impact of an ESB externally assessed oracy qualification? 

ESB’s published research from its most disadvantaged primary and secondary schools in its National Impact Report 2021/22 highlights the huge impact that ESB qualifications have on the Oracy skills of its learners, particularly in areas such as articulation, focus, ability to collaborate and engage with peers, and group work skills.  

You can access ESB’s full National Impact Report here.

About English Speaking Board (International) Ltd.

English Speaking Board (International) Ltd. is a specialist Ofqual regulated Awarding Organisation, with over 70 years of expertise in exclusively awarding qualifications for English Language and oracy. Its unique, child-centred, external oracy assessments bring professional assessors to schools to facilitate confidence-building speaking and listening assessments, which are set in supportive group settings and are mapped to national curriculum standards.

ESB also offers Ofqual Regulated ESOL Skills for Life qualifications for learners above the age of 16 years, who live, study or work in the United Kingdom and who wish to develop their English Language skills.

The organisation supports over 200 schools and colleges, charities and Not for Profit organisations in the UK and internationally, assessing over 60,000 learners each year to develop the knowledge and skills of their communities to have lifelong confidence to connect with people through communication, and to find their voice. 

Find out more

If you would like to learn more about ESB’s confidence-boosting oracy and English language qualifications, please get in touch with a member of our Business Strategy Team at business@esbuk.org. We would love to hear from you.

English Speaking Board (International) Ltd. is proud to announce its participation in an upcoming anniversary event commemorating 10 years of Linguistics Research at Manchester Metropolitan University.  

ESB’s involvement in this event and its future collaborations with Manchester Metropolitan University stem from ESB’s Chief Executive, Tina Renshaw, taking part in a panel discussion with Dr. Khawla Badwan, Senior Lecturer in TESOL and Applied Linguistics at MMU, during a previous Oracy event held at Grove Street Primary School on the Wirral. 

This event will see ESB actively contributing to a roundtable discussion on the present and future significance of linguistics research. 

Manchester Metropolitan University’s extensive research in diverse fields and sub-fields of linguistics, combined with its collaborations with national and international stakeholders, sets the stage for an insightful dialogue at the anniversary event. The question at the forefront of discussions will be, “what does Linguistics in Action look like?”. 

ESB’s Product Development Manager, Anthea Wilson, will represent ESB in the roundtable discussion and will address pivotal topics such as: 

1. Identifying the current pressing challenges and the vital role of linguistics research in addressing them. 
2. Developing a collaborative research agenda to ensure research impact, relevance, and significance. 
3. Exploring how ESB works with research. 

The roundtable session aims to gather diverse perspectives and responses from stakeholders, not only to reflect on the event’s presentations, but also to lay the groundwork for potential future research collaborations. 

ESB is delighted to be part of this milestone event and looks forward to contributing to the substantive discussions around the significance and future direction of linguistics research at Manchester Metropolitan University. 

About English Speaking Board (International) Ltd. 

English Speaking Board (International) Ltd. is a specialist Ofqual regulated Awarding Organisation, with over 70 years of expertise in exclusively awarding qualifications for English Language and Oracy. It creates, marks, and externally assesses accredited ESOL Skills for Life qualifications, available at five levels from Entry 1 to Level 2, as well as a non-accredited Pre-Entry offering. It also operates a successful portfolio of ESOL International qualifications from A1-C2 level, mapped to the common European framework, together with a unique suite of oracy qualifications mapped to the National Curriculum at Key Stages 1, 2, 3 and 4, which can add to, or enhance an ambitious curriculum. The organisation currently certificates more than 40,000 learners per year in a wide range of centres.  

ESB was awarded the prestigious title of ‘Awarding Organisation of the Year’ for 2023 by the Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB). ESB is renowned for promoting the power of human connection, self-advocacy, communication, and confidence-building amongst its learners.   

Our published research 

ESB’s National Impact Report 21/22 includes research from its most disadvantaged primary and secondary schools, demonstrating an impact score of 9/10 and 8/10 respectively, and highlighting the significant impact that ESB qualifications have on the Oracy skills of their learners in the wake of the pandemic. You can read the full National Impact Report here: ESB-INFO-C70-Oracy-Assessment-Impact-Report-2021-22-v1.pdf (esbuk.org) 

Additionally, a peer-reviewed article was published in the Chartered Teaching Magazine titled: ‘A unique opportunity in the curriculum for students to have genuine agency over their choices and outcome’: A study of the impact on learners of employability-focused, externally assessed Level 1 and Level 2 speaking and listening qualifications. 

If you would like to find out more information about English Speaking Board (International) and its externally assessed qualifications, please click here.