The Commission Conversations

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, catches up with Tim Oates CBE, Dame Alison Peacock, Baz Ramaih and Beccy Earnshaw at Voice 21's Speaking Summit conference to get their thoughts on oracy assessment, the Curriculum and Assessment Review's interim report and more.

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, talks to Frank Cottrell-Boyce about early language and reading.Frank Cottrell-Boyce is the Children's Laureate. He is a multi award-winning children's book author and screenwriter. Millions, his debut children's novel, won the prestigious CILIP Carnegie Medal.

In this Commission Conversation, Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England talks to Professor Teresa Cremin and Dr Helen Hendry about oracy and reading for pleasure.Professor Teresa Cremin is a Professor of Education (Literacy) at The Open University and Co-Director of the Literacy and Social Justice Centre at The Open University in the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (AcSS), the Royal Society of the Arts (RSA) and the English Association (EA). Additionally, she is a Trustee of the UK Literacy Association (UKLA), a Board member of the Reading Agency, a DfE expert on reading for pleasure, a member of the ESRC Peer Review College, and chair of the Advisory Group for the Paul Hamlyn Foundation Teacher Development Fund for the Arts. Dr Helen Hendry is a specialist in early education with a particular focus on literacy and inclusion. She draws on nearly 30 years experience as a teacher, advisory teacher, teacher educator and researcher. She joined The Open University in 2019 as a lecturer on the MA in Education programme after 13 years working on a range of Education programmes at Bishop Grosseteste University in Lincoln.

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Independent Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, talks to Dame Alison Peacock about oracy in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), how oracy supports learning throughout a child's education and how we can incentivise schools to focus on oracy.  Dame Alison Peacock is the CEO of the Chartered College of Teaching. Prior to joining the Chartered College, she was Executive Headteacher of The Wroxham School in Hertfordshire. Her career to date has spanned primary, secondary and advisory roles.

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Independent Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, talks to commissioners Justine Andrew, Jeffrey Boakye and Christine Counsell about their reflections on the Commission's deliberations.

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Independent Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, talks to commissioners Sonia Thompson, Stephen Coleman and Sarah Houghton about their reflections on the Commission's deliberations.

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Independent Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, talks to commissioners Rob Drummond, Sally Apps and Rufus Norris about their reflections on the Commission's deliberations. 

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, talks to Rebecca Montacute about the Sutton Trust's new report 'Life Lessons' which explores the development of oracy and other life skills in school.Rebecca Montacute is Head of Research and Policy at The Sutton Trust. Since joining the Trust in 2017, she has authored reports on a variety of topics including internships, university access, highly-able students from disadvantaged backgrounds, access to the professions and how parents use financial and cultural resources to boost their children's educations. Rebecca previously completed a PhD at the University of Manchester, and was a Fellow at the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology.

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, talks to Jacqui O'Hanlon about realising the potential of Shakespeare's work in the curriculum and young people's lives, how theatre-based pedagogy can impact students' speaking, listening and writing and how, more widely, the arts in schools contribute to the social, emotional and academic development of young people.Jacqui O'Hanlon is Director of Creative Learning and Engagement at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC). The RSC is a theatre company that produces and shares plays in Stratford-upon-Avon and around the world. As a teaching theatre, the RSC is a national centre for performance, teaching, training, learning and research about Shakespeare and theatre arts. Their research projects include 'Time to Act' which explored the difference that Shakespeare's work and RSC teaching approaches make to the language development and social and emotional development of children and young people. 

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, talks to Rachel Higgingson about developing a whole-school approach to oracy education, oracy in the curriculum   and the value of active listening. Rachel Higgingson has been in education for 25 years. Her aim is to support young people to develop the knowledge, skills and character to make a difference in the modern world.  She is a keynote speaker, school improvement facilitator, curriculum designer, primary adviser and has curated the Finding my Voice project.

In this ‘Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, talks to John Claughton about the importance of teaching young people about language, how to encourage curiosity about language and why this is powerful in the classroom. John Claughton is the co-founder of WoLLoW (The World of Languages and Languages of the World). He has taught Greek and Latin, written on Herodotus and Aristophanes for Cambridge University Press and is the former head teacher of King Edward's School, Birmingham.

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, talks to Clare Sealy about why it's oracies, not oracy, which aspects of oracy students might need to be taught explicitly and why we should think carefully about assessing oracy.Clare Sealy is Head of Education Improvement, States of Guernsey. Previously, she was a headteacher of over 20 years in Tower Hamlets with a particular interest in curriculum. She is the editor of 'The Curriculum: An Evidence-Informed Guide for Teachers'

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, talks to Lewis Iwu about the importance of teaching young people debating skills, the importance of retaining your 'authentic voice' as a speaker and why oracy education matters now. Lewis Iwu is the former Executive Director of the Fair Education Alliance, current Founding Partner of Purpose Union and a former World University Debating Champion. He is the author of “Words that Win” which offers insights into constructing persuasive arguments on social and environmental subjects. 

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, talks to Sammy Wright about his new book 'Exam Nation',  including the challenges of assessing oracy and why, despite these challenges, it might still be worth doing.Sammy Wright is Head of School at a large secondary in Sunderland. He is the author of 'Exam Nation: Why Our Obsession with Grades Fails Everyone and a Better Way to Think about School'. Sammy sat on the government's Social Mobility Commission from 2018 to 2021, becoming a key voice in the debates over exam grades during the pandemic. He has taught for twenty years at schools in Oxfordshire, London and the North East.

In this ‘Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England talks to Brian Jenner about the importance of process to oratory.Brian Jenner is a speech writer and the founder of the European Speechwriter Network. He has worked with high profile individuals including a Dragons' Den panellist, a Duke and a Premiership footballer. 

In this ‘Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England talks to Wendy Lee about the challenges of identifying children and young people with Speech Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) and how schools can support students with SLCN to thrive at school.Wendy has worked as a speech and language therapist for over 30 years, in clinical practice, as a senior lecturer in higher education and in the third sector. She was Professional Director at The Communication Trust until 2015 where she led on a number of projects, as well as inputting on national policy and research.Wendy is currently the Director of LINGO, which provides consultancy, professional development, resources and speech and language therapy. She is also an associate of Oracy Cambridge.

In this ‘Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England talks to Adam Power-Annand about using drama to support speaking and listening in Key Stage 1.Adam Power-Annand is the National Lead and CEO of Speech Bubbles, a charitable project which supports children struggling in the classroom and in social situations because of communication challenges.

In this ‘Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England talks to Topsy Page about oracy in a primary setting and practical ideas for embedding speaking and listening in schools.Topsy Page is a teacher, trainer and Oracy Cambridge Associate. She is the author of 100 Ideas for Primary Teachers: Oracy.

In this ‘Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, talks to Daisy Christodoulou about the challenges with traditional assessment and how comparative judgement can be used to assess children's oracy skills. Daisy Christodoulou is Director of Education at ‘No More Marking', an organisation which uses Comparative Judgement to provide detailed understanding of students' writing. She runs all their professional development and works closely with their subscriber schools on improving ways of assessing and teaching writing. Previously, she was Head of Assessment at Ark Schools, a network of academy schools. She is the author of three books: Seven Myths about Education, Making Good Progress? The future of Assessment for Learning and Teachers vs Tech? (Oxford University Press, 2020)

In this ‘Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England talks to Grace Lockrobin and Emma Swinn about Philosophy for Children and how this approach can support learners to think with others and to think for themselves in subjects across the curriculum. Grace Lockrobin and Emma Swinn are co-leaders of SAPERE (the Society for the Advancement of Philosophical Enquiry and Reflection in Education) which is the UK's national charity for Philosophy for Children (P4C). SAPERE exists to help people improve their learning and their lives through philosophical enquiry, their aim is to give people the skills to thrive in school and society.

In this ‘Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England talks to Andrew O'Neill about why he chose to prioritise oracy at All Saints Catholic College, including incorporating a discrete oracy lesson in Year 7.Andrew O'Neill is the headteacher of All Saints Catholic College. In 2022, he was awarded Pearson's Headteacher of the Year award. More recently, All Saints Catholic College has been in the news because of the 12-hour school day they are piloting. 

In this ‘Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England talks to  Elaine Allen about the links between oracy and early reading, how oracy relates to other aspects of literacy and why oracy education isn't something ‘new'.Elaine Allen is Blackpool Literacy Lead and Director of the St John Vianney English Hub. She also serves on the Liverpool Education Board as a reading expert, as well as the Blackpool Education Improvement Board. Elaine Allen also trains on the National Professional Qualification for Leading Literacy (NPQLL) for the National Institute of Teaching (NiOT) and also coaches on the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH). 

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England talks to Lisa Stephenson about story as a way into the curriculum, storytelling as a means to draw on children's linguistic strengths and cultural heritage and how drama pedagogy can support the development of children's social-emotional competencies.Lisa Stephenson is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Education. Her teaching and research specialism is creative (drama) learning. She is founder and director of Story Makers Company, a practice-based research centre which champions creative pedagogies and relational learning.

In this ‘Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England talks to James Mannion about oracy as a curricular object, building students' linguistic repertoires and making change stickJames Mannion is the  Director of Rethinking Education and the host of the Rethinking Education podcast.An experienced former teacher and school leader, James has a PhD in Learning to Learn from the University of Cambridge and a Masters in Person-Centred Education from the University of Sussex. He is also the co-author of Fear is the Mind Killer: Why Learning to Learn deserves lesson time – and how to make it work for your pupils.

In this ‘Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England talks to Ros Wilson about the link between speaking skills and writing skills.Ros is an education consultant, former teacher, former Ofsted inspector and the creator of Talk:Write.

In this ‘Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England talks to Melanie Cross about the intersection of oracy and social, emotional and mental health needs. Melanie is a speech and language therapist and author with decades of experience. She developed the Mind Your Words course for the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and wrote the book Language for Behaviour and Emotions. She is an expert in undetected communications needs. 

In this ‘Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England talks to Darren Chetty about cultivating dialogic and knowledge-rich classrooms, conceptualising teaching as an intellectual pursuit and the impact of Prevent on classroom dialogue.Darren Chetty is a writer, teacher and researcher. He has published academic work on philosophy, education, racism, children's literature and hip-hop culture. He taught in primary schools for twenty years before becoming a lecturer at UCL at the Institute of Education and the Arts & Sciences Department.

In this ‘Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England talks to Oli de Botton about why oracy matters, the craft of teaching and the dialogic classroom and the importance of talk at the transition from school to college. Oli de Botton is the CEO of The Careers & Enterprise Company – the national body for careers education. Before that Oli was Head Teacher and co-founder of School 21. He also co-founded Voice 21, the national oracy education charity.  He has also worked in education policy and strategy as a government education advisor.

In this ‘Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England talks to Leigh Wolmarans about oracy and the arts, the classroom as a ‘studio' and bringing language to life through expressive arts.Leigh is CEO and joint Artistic Director of performing arts charity, Silhouette Youth. Before that, he was a teacher, Deputy Head Teacher and Head Teacher in schools across London and Northampton. 

In this ‘Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England talks to Hywel Roberts about ‘botheredness', building a ‘community' in the classroom and the power of drama and storytelling.Hywel Roberts has taught in secondary, primary and special settings for almost 30 years. He contributes to university education programmes and contributes regularly to a variety of publications.

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, talks to Jean Gross about the importance of developing early language, the impact of Sure Start and how we can ensure teachers have the time, oppportunity and knowledge to develop their students' spoken language skills.  Jean Gross is an education expert who has led many national initiatives aimed at improving the learning, attainment  and wellbeing of disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs. Until 2011 she was the government's Communication Champion for children and young people, responsible for promoting the importance of good language skills. Before this she led work on overcoming barriers to achievement as a Director of the government's National Strategies, inclusing developing the influential Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) programme. 

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, talks to Carol Atherton about how books can spark conversations with students about pertinent issues and why teaching students to challenge accepted ideas, put forward alternative viewpoints and sustain a line of argument confidently is important in the English classroom. Carol Atherton is the author of Reading Lessons: the Books we Read at School, the Conversations They Spark and Why They Matter. She is currently Head of English at a secondary school in Lincolnshire. She is a Fellow of the English Association and a member of the National Association for the Teaching of English. 

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education talks to Rupert Knight about the initial teacher education landscape, teacher agency and what it takes to embed oracy education across a school. Rupert Knight is currently associate professor in the School of Education at the University of Nottingham, teaching on a primary initial teacher education programme and a variety of postgraduate education courses. Rupert's research interests include classroom talk; the role of theory and practice in learning to teach; teachers as professionals; and primary classroom pedagogies. He has authored two books on classroom talk: 'Classroom Talk: Evidence-based Teaching for Enquiring Teachers' and 'Classroom Talk in Practice: Teachers' Experiences of Oracy in Action'. 

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, speaks to Esther O'Connor about oracy in the Early Years and Foundation Stage (EYFS) including the role of the adult and the importance of high-quality interactions and serve-and-return conversations,  sustained shared thinking (SST) and modelling language. Esther O'Connor is an Early Years Practitioner and leader at The British School of Brussels, where she teaches and leads a large Early Years Sector for children aged 1-5. She has taught in the UK for 13 years where she was a Specialist Leader in Education,  facilitating sustainable improvements in a range of schools alongside coaching NQTs in partnership with local universities.

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England talks to Robin Alexander about dialogic teaching and how classroom talk can enhance learning, including the importance of 'elaboration', the 'third turn' and how dialogic pedagogy can enhance teacher agency.Robin Alexander is Fellow of Wolfson College at the University of Cambridge and Professor of Education Emeritus at the University of Warwick. He is a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA) and the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS), past President of the British Association for International and Comparative Education (BAICE), and former Director of the Cambridge Primary Review and Chair of the Cambridge Primary Review Trust.

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, talks to Bill Lucas about multi-modal assessment, the learner profile and the potential of assessment through talk.   Bill Lucas is Professor of Learning at the University of Winchester and Director of the Centre for Real-World Learning (CRL). Bill is co-founder of Rethinking Assessment, a movement arguing for a major overhaul of the assessment system in England.

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, talks to Jessie Ricketts about the link between oracy and reading, the importance of vocabulary knowledge and why approaches to developing oracy and reading skills should be tailored to different Key Stages.Professor Jessie Ricketts is based in the Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London and directs the Language and Reading Acquisition (LARA) research group. Jessie researches language and literacy in children, young people and adults. She is particularly interested in how reading benefits children's learning and language.

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England talks to Ian Cushing about the defecit foundations of oracy education, including why a focus on improving children's 'oracy skills' draws attention away from wider structural inequalities, locating the problem in the child rather than the system, as well as research he has conducted on the listening practices of Ofsted. Ian Cushing is a Senior Lecturer in Critical Applied Linguistics at Manchester Metropolitan University. Following a career as a school teacher in inner London,  he completed a PhD in Educational Linguistics in 2019 and has since worked in Higher Education across linguistics, education studies, and teacher education. He maintains close links with schools, where the majority of his current research is focused.

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, talks to Deborah Cameron about why there is a recurring, problematic narrative about oracy in education, the trouble with articulating standards for spoken language and why 'accountability culture' creates problems for implementing oracy education. Deborah Cameron is a sociolinguist who, until recently, was Professor of Language and Communication at Oxford University. She has a particular interest in the relationship between language and gender, and has published several academic books on that topic.

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, talks to Pie Corbett about  why talk underpins children's ability to read and write, the importance of storytelling at every phase and how creative subjects can help you understand yourself and the world around you better.Pie Corbett is a former teacher, head teacher, lecturer and OFSTED inspector who has published and edited over 250 books. He developed ‘Talk for Writing',  a teaching framework which supports children to imitate the language they need for a particular topic orally, before reading and analysing it, and then writing their own version.  He was made an Honorary Doctor of Letters for services to poetry, storytelling and creative teaching by the University of Winchester.

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, talks to Warda Farah about racial and cultural bias in speech and language therapy,  her own experiences of linguicism at school and why it is powerful to teach children and young people about standard language ideologies. Warda Farah is a speech and language therapist and community activist, as well as a lecturer at Greenwich University. She previously founded a specialised speech and language practice that trained clinicians and served schools in the UK in evidence-based, culturally/linguistically diverse therapy. 

It's been 10 weeks since we launched the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England. So, this week, Geoff Barton, Independent Chair of the Commission, gives us an overview of 10 themes the Commission has been exploring in these past weeks.

In this 'Commission Conversation', Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, Geoff Barton, talks to Kirsten Howells about why 'fluency' isn't a marker of being a good speaker and we can ensure a focus on oracy in schools is inclusive of children who stammer. You'll also hear from some children who stammer about their experiences at school.Kirsten Howells is Director of Services and Deputy CEO at STAMMA, the largest UK charity and membership organisation representing people who stammer. Kirsten joined STAMMA in 2019, initially as a helpline volunteer, and now coordinates their helpline, advocacy and employment services. 

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, speaks to Arlene Holmes-Henderson about what we can learn about oracy education from the ancient world, why more young people should be studying 'rhetoric' and the myths about oracy and citizenship we should be challenging. Arlene Holmes-Henderson is Professor of Classics Education and Public Policy at Durham University where she holds a British Academy Innovation Fellowship (2022-2024). After studying Classics at Oxford, Harvard and Cambridge, Arlene qualified as a schoolteacher and taught in high schools for more than a decade before returning to academia. In 2024, she is working with Dr Tom Wright (University of Sussex) on the AHRC-funded project Challenging Oracy and Citizenship Myths. Her work here focuses on co-designing with teachers, new resources on oracy for use in Scottish schools.

In this 'Commission Conversation, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, Geoff Barton, talks to Julia Snell about expectations for classroom talk, including the problem with blanket expectations for students to speak in standardised forms of English and the importance of dialogic pedagogy, including giving teachers the time and autonomy to develop this in their classrooms.  Julia Snell is Professor of Sociolinguistics at the University of Leeds. Her research on language variation has focused on the influence of social class, investigating how children from different social backgrounds use the resources of their local dialect, in addition to ‘standard' English, to construct their identities, negotiate social hierarchies, and manage their relationships with each other and with their teachers. Julia has also done extensive work on classroom discourse and dialogic pedagogy,  seeking to promote the use of 'dialogic' teaching practices that engage active pupil participation in rich and challenging classroom discourse.

In this 'Commission Conversation' Geoff Barton, Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, talks to Michael Rosen about...talk, including his own family history, how children talk about books and the way teachers use talk in the classroom.Michael Rosen is Professor of Children's Literature. Since the late 1960s, Michael Rosen has been writing books, articles, plays and various kinds of scripts; performing poetry for audiences of all ages; and broadcasting on literature related subjects on radio and TV. From 2007-2009 he was Children's Laureate.

Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, Geoff Barton, talks to Tom F. Wright about the history of grassroots oracy education which stretches right back to the Victorian era.Tom F. Wright is Reader in Rhetoric at the University of Sussex. He is a cultural historian of nineteenth century Britain and America. His research focuses on rhetoric and spoken communication and their role in politics, education and the history of ideas. Tom is Principal Investigator on the Speaking Citizens Project and teaches English and American Studies at the University of Sussex

Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, Geoff Barton, talks to Neil Mercer about talk for learning, disciplinary approaches to oracy, how we can support teachers to become effective oracy practitioners and whether we assess students' oracy skills. Neil Mercer is Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Cambridge, where he is also Director of Oracy Cambridge: the Centre for Effective Spoken Communication at Hughes Hall. Before he joined Cambridge, he was Professor of Language and Communications at the Open University. He is a  psychologist whose research has focused on the development of children's spoken language and reasoning abilities and teachers' role in that development, he has worked extensively and internationally with teachers, researchers and educational policy makers. Neil grew up in the Lake District and is an Honorary Fellow of the University of Cumbria. 

Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, Geoff Barton, speaks to Louisa Reeves about the importance of early language development, the role of the teacher in children's language development as they move through school and ensuring that oracy education is inclusive of all children. Louisa Reeves is Director of Policy and Evidence at Speech and Language UK. She leads on Speech and Language UK's policy and public affairs strategy, working to ensure that politicians and senior decision makers know about the importance of talking and understanding words to children's futures. She is a former speech and language therapist who also leads on ensuring Speech and Language UK is evidence-led with an embedded culture of evaluation which ensures that they achieve positive outcomes for children and young people which have measurable impact.

Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, Geoff Barton, speaks to Martin Robinson about bringing healthy and interesting debate into the curriculum and supporting students to explore different people's perspectives through talkAfter 20 years working in London in state schools - as teacher, head of department, AST, senior leader and QCA associate with a focus on creativity - Martin Robinson is now a parent, writer and consultant with an interest in how the arts should influence education.

Chair of the Commission on the Future of Oracy Education in England, Geoff Barton, speaks to Tim Oates about oracy in the National Curriculum and the gap between intent and implementation, what we can learn from other countries about implementing oracy education and why he is cautious about assessing oracy. Tim Oates is Group Director of Assessment Research and Development at Cambridge Assessment, focussing on national and international research on assessment and measurement. From 2010-2013, he was chair of the Expert Panel for Review of the National Curriculum. He has published widely on assessment and curriculum. In 2015 he was awarded a CBE for services to education.