Starmer urged to honour pledge on oracy in schools

The children's writer Michael Rosen, the former political strategist Alastair Campbell and the former education secretaries Charles Clarke and Estelle Morris have urged the prime minister to honour his pre-election pledge to embed speaking skills in England's schools.

- Sally Weale

They are among 60 signatories to an open letter to Keir Starmer, calling on him to establish oracy as a core part of Labour's revised national curriculum and make it the fourth 'R' in education, alongside reading, writing, and arithmetic.

Labour announced in 2023 that teaching oracy – often defined as developing skill in using spoken language – would be a central part of Labour's educational priorities if it won the next election.

However, campaigners have said the promise was not mentioned in the interim report of the government's curriculum and assessment review this year, leading to fears that oracy may have slipped down the educational agenda. The full report is due this year.