Oracy
Oracy isn’t a “nice to have”, it’s a necessity. The real question is: can our learners speak, listen, and think with the clarity the future demands?
The Three Spires NextGen Oracy Curriculum ensures they can. Embedded from KS2–KS5, it develops the communication, reasoning, and rhetorical skill students need to thrive in classrooms, communities, and future workplaces.
Grounded in research and strengthened through our partnership with DebateMate, the programme aligns with national expectations and sits firmly within the Trust’s wider NextGen vision.
In an era defined by competing narratives, civic debate, and AI-shaped information, students deserve more than occasional classroom talk. They need to listen actively, speak purposefully, and use rhetoric responsibly. Above all, they must think critically – questioning assumptions, evaluating evidence, and engaging with diverse perspectives.
Oracy is not an add-on; it’s woven deliberately through every subject and stage. Through structured dialogue, debate clubs, reasoning tasks, and purposeful collaboration, we equip learners to think deeply, communicate powerfully, and participate confidently in the world they are shaping.
To discuss partnership possibilities or our oracy initiatives, please contact nextgen@threespirestrust.org.
Oracy Network Meetings
Our Oracy Network brings together the Oracy Leads from across the Trust on a termly basis. These champions play a vital role in shaping a culture where spoken communication, confidence, and articulate self-expression are central to learning.
This is the kind of work they are engaging with:
- Identifying and implementing an oracy programme that best meets the needs of the children and students within their own setting
- Developing learners’ debating skills through high-quality opportunities, supported by our partners at DebateMate
- Setting up oracy and debate clubs within their schools, providing safe, structured spaces for pupils to practise public speaking, discussion, and reasoning
- Ensuring each school adopts selected oracy strategies so that spoken language becomes a tool all staff can use to enhance engagement, deepen understanding, and strengthen communication across lessons
- Providing CPD for staff, modelling effective oracy techniques and supporting colleagues to embed them in daily teaching
- Exploring new approaches to assessment, developing ways for oracy to become a meaningful vehicle for assessing learners in specific subjects
- Creating wider opportunities for students to use their voice, such as presenting in assemblies, greeting visitors, introducing events, or speaking at showcases
- Participating in the Trust-wide end-of-year debate, giving learners a platform to demonstrate confidence, critical thinking, and high-quality spoken communication
Our Oracy Leads are central to building a Trust where students speak with confidence, listen with care, and develop the communication skills they need to thrive in education, employment, and life.