The following press release was written by Vocie 21 celebrating our success with Oracy. 

On Friday 8 November, Southfields Primary School was visited by their local MP Sam Carling to celebrate their recent accreditation as an Oracy Centre of Excellence by the national oracy charity, Voice 21, and to witness high quality oracy education in action. The Oracy Centre of Excellence accreditation was awarded to Southfields for its work developing students’ speaking and listening skills. Southfields Primary was chosen to receive this award out of the 1150 schools that Voice 21 works with annually. They had their oracy achievements recognised on Friday with this “gold standard” accreditation.

To secure its recognition, Southfields Primary had to demonstrate the quality of oracy education being provided across five areas of school life: the school’s vision, culture, curriculum, learning and impact on Students. Southfields Primary will now serve as a ‘beacon of good practice’ to other schools across the country, showcasing how oracy teaching can impact their students’ future education and employment opportunities.

Oracy is as foundational in learning as reading, writing and arithmetic, and is an entitlement in every child’s education to prepare them as future citizens. That’s why oracy is being prioritised by the UK government and put at the heart of the ongoing Curriculum and Assessment Review.

MP for North West Cambridgeshire Sam Carling was present on the day to celebrate the school’s achievement and to deliver their prestigious award. He said: “I’m thrilled to see Southfields Primary presented with this award. The commitment the school has shown to delivering oracy education has led to excellent development in pupils’ skills, and it was great to hear more about how this has been achieved during my visit. Southfields is not only fostering confidence and strong communication skills among its pupils but is also becoming a beacon for other schools striving to cultivate the same success.”

Maria Arnold, Class Teacher, Reading and Oracy Lead at Southfields Primary School said: “Voice 21 have supported us from the beginning of our implementation journey by providing research-based resources and ideas that could be easily adapted to support the needs of our school. The impact we have seen on the children's confidence levels, as well as the quality of the talk in the classroom have been two of the things we celebrate the most. We have developed so much in the last three years and this is why becoming a

Centre of Excellence is so important, as it will enable us to support other settings and impact many children in the same way we have supported the pupils in our community.” Dr Kate Paradine, CEO of Voice 21, said: “The Voice 21 Oracy Centre of Excellence awardcertifies and celebrates schools who are changing the face of education. Southfields Primary has demonstrated the quality of oracy education being provided across five areas of school life; their school’s vision, culture, curriculum, learning and impact on students. This whole school approach is at the heart of what it means to offer the high-quality oracy education which will enable every child to use their voice to thrive in school, work and life.”

About Voice 21
Vocie 21 is a national charity that supports schools to build oracy into the curriculum, teaching and learning and wider school life. Oracy is the ability to articulate ideas, develop understanding and engage with others through spoken language and listening. We are one of the UK’s most successful start-ups. In less than a decade, Voice 21 has gone from working in one school to working with one-in-20 schools, taking oracy, together with partners, from obscurity towards being an ordinary part of a child's education.
Oracy is a powerful tool for learning; by teaching students to become more effective speakers and listeners we empower them to use their voice for success in school and life. Oracy underpins young people’s progress and development: their literacy and numeracy, academic attainment, wellbeing, confidence and future prospects in further or higher education and employment.