Oracy is Education’s New Frontier
In the years following the pandemic, something has quietly shifted in our schools. Teachers, parents, and educational leaders are witnessing a growing trend that points to a deeper, more structural problem: children aren’t talking as much, and when they do, their ability to communicate effectively seems diminished.
This isn’t just anecdotal. The data on speech and language development confirms that many young children are struggling in ways they weren’t before. Lockdowns, social isolation, and limited face-to-face interactions have taken their toll, and the repercussions are particularly stark among children with special educational needs (SEN). What was once an occasional concern in early education has now become a daily reality in many classrooms.
In a world where communication is the cornerstone of learning, this silent crisis poses a unique challenge. It’s no longer enough to teach literacy and numeracy. Schools must now cultivate a fundamental skill that we have long taken for granted: oracy—the ability to express oneself fluently and clearly.
But here’s the paradox: while we’ve become more aware of the problem, the solution presents its own set of challenges.
The Complexity of Assessing Communication
Recently, a group of Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) leaders took a close look at Oracy Champions, a platform designed to help assess and develop children’s speaking and listening skills. The feedback was revealing. There’s no doubt about the platform’s potential to address the issue. It’s full of innovative ideas, offering a structured way to measure and encourage oracy development. For SEN children, in particular, it promises something transformative: a way to bridge the communication gap that has only widened since COVID.
But good ideas, no matter how well-intentioned, can have unintended consequences. The same EYFS leaders who praised the platform also raised a concern that speaks to the heart of education today: the weight of teacher workload. Implementing a tool like this across an entire classroom, they argued, could add yet another layer of complexity to an already overburdened system.
This raises an important question: How do we balance the urgent need to address children’s communication deficits with the equally pressing reality that teachers, the very people tasked with solving this problem, are themselves overwhelmed?
The SEN Dilemma
For children with special educational needs, the stakes are even higher. These children often struggle with verbal communication in ways that profoundly impact their ability to learn, socialise, and engage with the world around them. For them, oracy isn’t just a skill—it’s a lifeline.
The leaders who reviewed Oracy Champions noted something crucial: the platform’s ability to provide individualised attention to SEN students is a game-changer. The tools are designed to adapt to each child’s unique communication needs, offering tailored support where traditional methods often fall short.
It’s tempting to see this as the clear path forward, a way to ensure that no child is left behind. But there’s another layer to consider: the very act of individualisation comes at a cost. To focus on one child’s oracy development means investing time and energy that, in a crowded classroom, teachers simply don’t have in abundance.
Here we face a familiar educational conundrum: personalisation in learning, especially for SEN children, is critical—but it often demands resources that are in short supply.
The Post-COVID Landscape
The pandemic did more than disrupt daily routines; it reshaped how children interact with the world. In an era dominated by screens and isolation, the organic, spontaneous conversations that help children develop their speech were often missing. Now, educators are left to pick up the pieces, faced with a cohort of children who, in many cases, have fallen behind in the most basic of skills: the ability to express themselves.
This is the new reality. It’s not just about teaching children to read or write. It’s about ensuring they have the verbal tools to articulate their thoughts, emotions, and needs. And yet, the very systems designed to support them—especially SEN children—are stretched to the limit.
Oracy Champions, with its focus on structured communication assessment, offers a solution. But as with any solution, the question becomes not just “Can it work?” but “How do we make it work within the constraints of today’s classrooms?”
The Future of Oracy in Education
What we’re seeing is not just a challenge but an opportunity—a chance to rethink how we approach communication in the classroom. It’s no longer enough to assume that children will naturally develop these skills. Schools, particularly in the early years, must take an active role in fostering oracy. For SEN students, the need is even more urgent.
The feedback from EYFS leaders reminds us that while the tools to address this problem exist, their implementation requires careful thought. Teachers are already doing more with less. If we are to make oracy a priority, we must find ways to support educators, giving them the time and resources they need to truly make a difference.
In the end, the rise in speech and language issues post-COVID may be the catalyst for something greater. It forces us to confront the reality that communication is not an add-on to education—it is education. How we choose to respond to this challenge will define not just the success of platforms like Oracy Champions, but the future of an entire generation of learners.
The children who struggled in silence during the pandemic are waiting for us to help them find their voices. The question is: Are we listening?
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