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.