Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation welcomes the Oracy Education Commission’s recent report, ‘We need to talk’. The report highlights the urgent need to embed oracy more deeply into the curriculum as the fourth ‘R’ in schools. It is particularly encouraging to see recognition of the arts, especially drama, as a key contributor to oracy development.

Drama plays a crucial role in fostering communication skills. When students rehearse and perform in plays, they practice speaking, active listening, rhetorical techniques and expressing a range of emotions. The collaborative nature of drama encourages students to speak with confidence, engage with different perspectives, and refine their ability to convey ideas clearly. By bringing text, stories and characters to life, drama is a powerful vehicle for developing oracy skills in a meaningful context.

Drama teachers are therefore uniquely positioned to be key enablers in the drive towards oracy education in schools: experts in a pedagogy which promotes teamwork, self-reflection, empathy and consideration of audience, aligning directly with the goals of oracy education outlined by the Commission.

We are also pleased with the recommendation to reintroduce spoken language requirements at GCSE level – complementing the essential skills honed through drama – and consequently to call for much needed investment in teachers’ continued development. This will ensure that oracy is valued, measured and embedded by teachers across the school.

Lastly and importantly, the report acknowledges that oracy must be inclusive. For learners with speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN), it is essential that different forms of communication are recognised. Here too we see a role for inclusive creative practice and the performing arts to enable varied communication methods within oracy and provide accessible pathways for these students.

This report offers an exciting vision to bring speech, speaking and speakers to life in the classroom, and we look forward to seeing oracy education flourish with the arts at its heart.

You can read the report here: https://oracyeducationcommission.co.uk/oec-report/