Speaking and listening skills are being given equal footing with reading and writing for the first time in the English national curriculum. This guide explains what oracy means, why it’s becoming compulsory, and what to expect.
Quick Answer: What Is Oracy and What’s Changing?
Oracy refers to spoken language skills: speaking clearly, listening actively, and communicating ideas confidently. Following the government’s Curriculum and Assessment Review, oracy will become a core part of the national curriculum from September 2028, with dedicated frameworks for both primary and secondary schools, and Ofsted expected to inspect it directly.
Why Oracy Is Being Prioritised
Research cited in the review found that in a typical classroom, teachers do around 89% of the talking, leaving most pupils speaking for well under a minute per lesson, and that current statutory requirements for spoken language are inconsistently understood, with only around a quarter of secondary teachers confident they understand them. Campaigners describe oracy as “the fourth R,” alongside reading, writing, and arithmetic, arguing it’s just as foundational to learning and later success.
What the New Framework Includes
- Primary oracy framework: designed to help primary teachers build pupils into confident, fluent speakers and listeners by the end of Key Stage 2.
- Secondary oracy, reading and writing framework: embeds oracy across every subject, not just English and drama, connecting spoken communication with reading and writing skills more broadly.
- Revised English and drama programmes of study: updated to more clearly exemplify how speaking and listening should be taught and assessed.
- Teacher professional development: dedicated training support to help teachers across all subjects deliver oracy effectively, not just English specialists.
How Ofsted Will Assess It
While the exact inspection approach is still being developed, Ofsted’s Chief Inspector has signalled that oracy will be looked at directly, including whether pupils get regular, planned opportunities to speak in lessons beyond simply answering questions, and how oracy supports inclusion for pupils with speech, language, and communication needs.
What This Means for Pupils
In practice, this should mean more structured opportunities to talk, discuss, and present across all subjects, not just English lessons, rather than lessons dominated by teacher talk. Evidence cited by the review links stronger oracy skills to better academic outcomes and, separately, to helping close the attainment gap between advantaged and disadvantaged pupils.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does oracy become part of the curriculum?
The full new national curriculum, including the oracy framework, is expected to be implemented for first teaching from September 2028, with the final revised curriculum due to be published by spring 2027, giving schools time to prepare.
Is oracy only relevant to English lessons?
No, a key part of the reform is embedding oracy across every subject, from maths to science to history, rather than confining it to English and drama as has traditionally been the case.
Will oracy be formally assessed like reading and writing?
The government has committed to oracy sitting alongside reading and writing as a core outcome, with Ofsted expected to inspect it directly, though the detailed assessment framework is still being developed ahead of the 2028 rollout.
