Call for more focus on children's speech and language in Schools Bill

More than 35 organisations are backing amendments to the bill, which was debated in the House of Lords on Monday.

Ahead of the debate, Voice 21, I CAN and the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists co-ordinated a campaign to call for a much greater focus on speech, language and communication in schools.

Lord Watson of Invergowrie, vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Oracy, had tabled the amendments.

Speaking during the debate he said, ‘Spoken language underpins literacy skills and vocabulary development. As such, it is central to learning across the curriculum. It should not be necessary to state that the ability to communicate effectively and articulate well is an essential ingredient to success in both school and beyond. Oral communication skills are required in almost every job and in every walk of life, yet we expect children just to pick them up rather than explicitly teaching them as we do reading and writing.

‘This puts many children at a significant disadvantage if they do not live in a language-rich home where conversation and discussion is the norm. All too often that is the case, which underlines the necessity for children to be able to access these experiences and develop their oracy at school as a key part of the curriculum. For some children, this will be their only chance to develop their confidence and competence in spoken language.’

He cited recent calls from the House of Lords Youth Unemployment Committee and the Times Education Commission, which recognised that communication skills are among the workforce skills gaps most identified by employers.

The Times Education Commission’s final report stated that, ‘Pupils need to learn to converse, to debate, to present, to persuade, to justify and to challenge. These tools are highly valued by employers, but they are not systematically taught in school.’

Meanwhile, Baroness Brinton argued that the Schools White Paper was ‘silent on how to reduce the ever-widening language gap for disadvantaged or disabled schoolchildren’.

She also spoke about her family’s experience of accessing speech and language therapy and the need to address the workforce challenges facing the speech and language therapy profession.