Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to improve children's oracy skills in Portsmouth South constituency.

Spoken language is a key part of the knowledge rich curriculum and is taught from early years to GCSE level. The Department recognises the importance of spoken language which is already part of the English National Curriculum. The GCSE English Language qualification ensures that pupils are able to listen to and understand spoken language and use spoken standard English effectively.

The Department is also providing up to £17 million of funding for the Nuffield Early Language Intervention to improve the language skills of reception age pupils who need it most following the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the Department has secured over £28 million to support the speech and language of three and four year olds. This will be delivered through the new family hubs network.

On 11 July 2023, the Department published the updated Reading Framework which outlines how vitally important talking is to reading and how teachers can support all pupils to express their ideas confidently. The £60 million English Hubs Programme, launched in 2018, is dedicated to improving the teaching of reading with a focus on phonics, early language development and reading for pleasure. Since its launch, the English Hubs Programme has provided appropriate and targeted support to several thousand schools.

Portsmouth’s local English Hub, Springhill English Hub, is working hard to engage and support primary schools across Portsmouth to improve the teaching of phonics, including offering showcase events especially for Portsmouth schools. The Hub has supported four schools in the city, with another six expected to become partner schools in September 2023.