Speak for change: Enriching the Oracy All-Party Group Parliamentary inquiry and report

Dr Arlene Holmes-Henderson, Research Fellow in Classics Education, has been awarded funding from the Strategic Priorities Fund for Policy Engagement to share research expertise with the UK Parliament. This collaboration will augment the final stages of the Oracy All Party Parliamentary Group’s ‘Speak for Change’ Inquiry. Dr Holmes-Henderson and a team of researchers will address the identified evidence gaps enabling the Oracy APPG to present 1) a clearer picture of national provision of oracy education, 2) where the gaps are widest and, 3) the long-term consequences for those children and young people who do not yet have sufficient opportunities at school to develop these skills. This project will also facilitate consultation with a wide pool of experts and stakeholders to develop and test the Inquiry's final recommendations, optimising their efficacy in influencing government policy and acting as a call to action for the education community.

The Oracy All-Party Parliamentary Group, chaired by Emma Hardy MP, includes 19 cross-party MPs and Peers. In 2019 it launched an Inquiry (reporting by Easter 2021) aimed at improving oracy education. Education charity Voice 21 provides the Secretariat to the group and it is supported by a coalition of 20 organisations and experts, The Oracy Network. As a founding and central member of this grouping, Dr Holmes-Henderson has provided academic input, oversight and advice to the Inquiry as well as engaging members of the academic community in support of the APPG’s aims. All the members of the Oracy APPG and members of the Oracy Network are listed here: www.oracyappg.org.uk/about-us.

Keep up to date with the project on twitter: @drarlenehh, @AppgOracy

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