The Commission Conversations The Oracy Education Commission

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, talks to Pie Corbett about why talk underpins children's ability to read and write, the importance of storytelling at every phase and how creative subjects can help you understand yourself and the world around you better.Pie Corbett is a former teacher, head teacher, lecturer and OFSTED inspector who has published and edited over 250 books. He developed ‘Talk for Wri...

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, talks to Warda Farah about racial and cultural bias in speech and language therapy, her own experiences of linguicism at school and why it is powerful to teach children and young people about standard language ideologies. Warda Farah is a speech and language therapist and community activist, as well as a lecturer at Greenwich University. She previously founded a...

It's been 10 weeks since we launched the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England. So, this week, Geoff Barton, Independent Chair of the Commission, gives us an overview of 10 themes the Commission has been exploring in these past weeks.

In this 'Commission Conversation', Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, Geoff Barton, talks to Kirsten Howells about why 'fluency' isn't a marker of being a good speaker and we can ensure a focus on oracy in schools is inclusive of children who stammer. You'll also hear from some children who stammer about their experiences at school.Kirsten Howells is Director of Services and Deputy CEO at STAMMA, the largest UK charity and membership organisation representing...

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, speaks to Arlene Holmes-Henderson about what we can learn about oracy education from the ancient world, why more young people should be studying 'rhetoric' and the myths about oracy and citizenship we should be challenging. Arlene Holmes-Henderson is Professor of Classics Education and Public Policy at Durham University where she holds a British Academy Innovation Fellowship (2...

In this 'Commission Conversation, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, Geoff Barton, talks to Julia Snell about expectations for classroom talk, including the problem with blanket expectations for students to speak in standardised forms of English and the importance of dialogic pedagogy, including giving teachers the time and autonomy to develop this in their classrooms. Julia Snell is Professor of Sociolinguistics at the University of Leeds. Her res...