The Commission Conversations

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.