Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help improve children's oracy in Gloucester.

High and rising school standards are at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best life chances.

The government’s Curriculum and Assessment Review will seek to deliver a cutting-edge curriculum that ensures children and young people leave compulsory education ready for life and ready for work, building the knowledge, skills and attributes young people need to thrive.

​The department agrees that children’s oracy is very important. The Education Endowment Foundation has found that the average impact of oral language interventions is approximately an additional six months’ progress over the course of a year. Approaches that focus on speaking, listening and a combination of the two all show positive impacts on attainment, most notably on reading outcomes. Impact in early years (seven months additional progress) and primary schools (six months additional progress) tends to be higher than in secondary schools (six months additional progress).

​In the early years, developing language skills is vital to enable children to thrive.

The department has also invested over £20 million in the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI), improving the language skills of reception age children needing extra support with their speech and language development.​ More than 170 primary schools in Gloucestershire have benefited from this support.

The English Hubs Programme is dedicated to improving the teaching of reading, with a focus on phonics, early language development and reading for pleasure. The English Hub for schools in Gloucester is Mangotsfield English Hub. Further information can be found here: https://www.mpenglishhub.co.uk/.