Labour leader urged to adhere to commitment of incorporating public speaking skills into England’s education system.

Michael Rosen, Alastair Campbell, Charles Clarke, and Estelle Morris have joined forces with 60 other signatories to urge Prime Minister Keir Starmer to fulfill his pre-election pledge to prioritize speaking skills in England’s schools. In an open letter to Starmer, they call for oracy to be incorporated as a core component of the revised national curriculum, making it the fourth “R” alongside reading, writing, and arithmetic. The Labour party had previously announced in 2023 that teaching oracy would be a central part of their educational priorities, but it was not mentioned in the interim report of the government’s curriculum and assessment review. Campaigners are concerned that oracy may be pushed down the educational agenda. The letter, organized by Voice 21, emphasizes the importance of developing essential oracy skills in a rapidly evolving world. The Department for Education has stated that it will ensure every young person develops the necessary skills, including speaking and listening, and has already invested in evidence-based language interventions.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/jul/23/keir-starmer-urged-to-honour-pledge-to-embed-speaking-skills-in-englands-schools