The Times: Keir Starmer: Expressing yourself is something every child should master

Oracy, or finding one’s voice, will be key to Labour’s plans for a reformed curriculum

Keir Starmer, Labour leader Wednesday July 05 2023, 11.00pm, The Times

As you read this, I would like you to pause and think back to the past few days and weeks and to the moments when you have been speaking to others.

As a politician, husband and father, it’s strange to think of the variety: a podcast interview reflecting on my life; honing six questions to ask the prime minister in the bear pit of the House of Commons; a one-to-one with a colleague about the mortgage crisis; a speech about our plans to become a clean-energy superpower; and, of course, the more personal conversations with my son about which players Arsenal might buy.

In each of these examples, the type of spoken language changes — analytical or chatty, formal or informal, pointed or gentle, collaborative or decisive.

Talk is the currency of politics. It is our way of negotiating, deliberating, persuading and coming to decisions. Talk is also the currency of learning — how we develop and shape our ideas, deepen our thinking, explore subject matter and share our thoughts and feelings.

That’s why I want speaking skills, sometimes called “oracy”, to play an important part in Labour’s plans for a reformed school curriculum.

Employers have told me that speaking skills are as important as reading and writing. The ability to speak well and express yourself should be something every child is entitled to and should master.

But the curriculum doesn’t allow us to provide this. This is short-sighted. An inability to articulate your thoughts fluently is a key barrier to getting on and thriving in life. Children with poor

language at age five are six times less likely to reach the expected standard in English at age 11 than those with good language at that age. It’s key to doing well in a job interview, persuading a business to

give you a refund, telling your friend something awkward.

Oracy is a skill that can and must be taught. Yes, it’s in part about good public speaking and debating skills, but in reality, it is about much more: how to teach young people to make a cogent argument

and choose language with discernment; how to read an audience and forge meaningful social connections; how to use our expressions and body language to convey meaning.

Above all else it’s about finding your voice. To work out who you are and what you believe. If reading opens up a world of imagination and possibility, then speaking and listening opens up a lifetime of empowerment — a chance for those who feel invisible in their own country to be heard.

It is about the confidence to speak out, to call out injustice or harm.

And the flipside of speaking is listening, which can also be taught.

Listening, truly listening, breeds tolerance and understanding. And as parents we can play our part. We’ve all been there, at mealtimes, silent as we all stare at our devices.

Our job, all of ours, is to get off our screens and give young people, and adults, the gift of listening.

So, oracy — speaking and listening — needs to be placed firmly at the heart of school life.

And Labour in government will work to weave oracy through the curriculum at all stages, so that every young person leaves school with the confidence and skills to use their voice to overcome

barriers and make the most of their lives.