{"id":17843,"date":"2024-09-13T14:52:06","date_gmt":"2024-09-13T13:52:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/web\/?p=17843"},"modified":"2024-09-13T14:52:06","modified_gmt":"2024-09-13T13:52:06","slug":"patron-meena-kumari-wood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/index.php\/patron-meena-kumari-wood\/","title":{"rendered":"ESB welcomes author Meena Kumari Wood as its new Patron"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/web\/app\/uploads\/2024\/09\/B2891DC7-EFCC-4E65-9A58-BA1BC8A509B1_4_5005_c.jpeg\" alt=\"Headshot of Meena Kumari Wood\" class=\"wp-image-17847\"\/><figcaption>Meena Kumari Wood<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>English Speaking Board (International) Ltd. (ESB)<\/strong> Is delighted to announce that author <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/meena-wood-mba-ed-leadership-frsa-fcct-b345028a\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Meena Kumari Wood<\/a><\/strong> has agreed to become a Patron of the organisation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The news comes as ESB, an award-winning Awarding Organisation with over 70 years of expertise in offering Oracy and English Language qualifications, looks to expand on the number and diversity of its Patrons. Meena joins as a Patron in the year that the organisation was named as <strong>Awarding Organisation of the Year<\/strong>, by <strong>the Federation of Awarding Bodies. <\/strong>The award recognised and applauded that as a not-for-profit business, ESB also promotes a thriving <a href=\"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/web\/funding\/outreach-campaign\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Outreach Programme which helps learners facing disadvantage<\/a>. \u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Consultant, trainer, author, Honorary Fellow in Educational Leadership (Univ. Birmingham), Board Member of Chartered College of Teaching and former HMI (Ofsted), Principal Secondary Academy Principal Adult College and LA Education Adviser, Meena is passionate for ALL young people to succeed in education. She is author of the inspirational book, <strong>\u201cSecondary Curriculum Transformed: Enabling All to Achieve\u201d<\/strong>, which highlights the excellent work that ESB does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe allow=\"autoplay *; encrypted-media *; fullscreen *; clipboard-write\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"175\" style=\"width:100%;max-width:660px;overflow:hidden;border-radius:10px;\" sandbox=\"allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation\" src=\"https:\/\/embed.podcasts.apple.com\/gb\/podcast\/meena-wood-on-curriculum-reform-learning-from-other\/id1546512828?i=1000656790226\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p>ESB\u2019s CEO Tina Renshaw, says: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>We are delighted that Meena is joining ESB as our Patron. We have been endeavouring to find new patrons to better represent the reach of our many accredited qualifications that we offer. I hope our new Patrons will help to raise our profile and assist us with our philanthropic and fund-raising to support and grow our Outreach Programme.&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWith her educational and literary background, Meena will particularly focus on our Oracy work with schools, colleges and third sector organisations. This has become even more relevant with the new Labour Government pledging to prioritise Oracy as a crucial part of a child\u2019s education and to ensure that all young people have access to the opportunities they deserve.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOracy is about learning through talk and learning to talk. The power of spoken language is transformative and larger than developing communicative competence and access to knowledge.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn addition to Oracy as \u2018learning through talk\u2019 there is transformative power in applying speaking and listening to real-life situations and simulated experiences. ESB\u2019s accredited assessments provide such experiences. We give learners communication-rich opportunities and a platform on which their voice and their passions are not only heard but valued, delivering confidence and agency.\u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMeena will help ESB establish itself as a thought leader, with our unique contribution of offering accredited qualifications in the Oracy space in government-funded primary, secondary and post 16 education and in the independent sector. I look forward to her getting involved with our centres to see first-hand their challenges and achievements that they encounter with their ESB learners\u2019 oracy journeys\u201d.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Says Meena: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>It is an honour to be a Patron of ESB and I greatly value this opportunity to champion its sterling work. I strongly believe that structured learning for all children and young people to develop their oracy skills should be embedded across the curriculum. These form the foundations for strong reading and writing skills and lead to an inclusive curriculum.&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>In her enlightening book, <strong>\u201cSecondary Curriculum Transformed: Enabling All to Achieve\u201d<\/strong>, Meena says: \u201cIt is clear that disadvantaged children are the ones most in need of public speaking skills, especially those from homes, where there is not much talk. As we have seen in a world where entrepreneurial skills and communication skills are paramount, all our students must have the confidence and the ability to articulate their opinions; these are attributes that last a lifetime.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Connecting this thought to what ESB offers, she adds: \u201cThe \u2018Connect, Inform, Perform and Employability\u2019 Pathways in ESB assessments contain specific oracy skills for each context. \u2018Connect\u2019 allows students to develop their literacy and analytical skills, through a biographical talk, a chosen poem or drama piece and includes being able to respond to audience questions. \u2018Inform\u2019 can be focused on a KS3 topic in any subject. Students may give a personal interest talk, review a news piece and give a persuasive speech, within a political, economic, environmental or social context. \u2018Perform\u2019 allows students to unlock their creativity through the performance of a self-composition or performance of an established work. \u2018Employability\u2019 supports those who wish to deepen their understanding of a career and to prepare for the job market\u201d.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tina adds: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>Meena joins our other new Patron Disability Rights and Race Equality Champion and award-winning social entrepreneur Dr Kush Kanodia. Kush\u2019s phenomenal work in creating systematic change for the inclusion of disabled people is a perfect fit for our work in giving more learners with significant learning needs the chance to find their voice and empowering them to achieve with our ambitious and inclusive Oracy qualifications.\u202f&nbsp;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Kush was recently awarded the\u202f <strong>Campaigner of the Year Award 2024<\/strong>\u202f by the prestigious <strong>Sheila McKechnie Foundation<\/strong> in recognition of his significant contribution to social change through campaigning and advocacy. He has just returned from Paris to attend the Paralympics\u2019 Blind Football Final and the Closing Ceremony, having been a Torch Bearer for the Paralympic Games in\u202fLondon 2012.\u202f&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you would like to learn more about ESB\u2019s confidence-boosting Oracy and English language qualifications, please get in touch with a member of our Business Strategy Team at\u202f <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/about:blank\" target=\"_blank\">business@esbuk.org<\/a>. We would love to hear from you.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>English Speaking Board (International) Ltd. (ESB) Is delighted to announce that author Meena Kumari Wood has agreed to become a Patron of the organisation.&nbsp; The news comes as ESB, an award-winning Awarding Organisation with over 70 years of expertise in offering Oracy and English Language qualifications, looks to expand on the number and diversity of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17847,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,26,29,6,31],"tags":[24,27,28,30],"class_list":["post-17843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-awarding-organisation-of-the-year","category-dr-kush-kanodia","category-meena-kumari-wood","category-oracy","category-patron","tag-author","tag-english-speaking-board-international-ltd","tag-meena-kumari-wood","tag-patron"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/esbuk.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}