English Speaking Board (International) Ltd. welcomes the new government’s focus on oracy and the transformation of the education system to enable all young people to succeed
Jul 15, 2024English 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.
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 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, initiate 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.
- 60% of learners improved their ability to ‘speak confidently, audibly and fluently’.
- Learners’ qualitative responses indicated that learners have not only gained skills and knowledge, but also the vocabulary to better articulate their own abilities and targets.
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.