Education Adviser, Claire Steele, discusses how oracy links to safeguarding and why it’s important…

The recent Curriculum and Assessment Review has named Oracy as one of the key elements under its ‘Knowledge and Skills for the Future’ strand of their key findings and recommendations.

At Services For Education, we welcome this focus on speech and communication as without this, how are children to keep themselves safe in a world where potential dangers are all around?

What Is Oracy and Why Is It Important?

In the Curriculum and Assessment Review ‘Oracy’ refers to the ability to communicate effectively to express ideas, understand others and engage through speaking, listening and dialogue.

These skills sit at the heart of our education system, and yet more and more children start school without the basic skills needed to become a fluent orator.

• There is some evidence that children who are given a dummy have less opportunities to ‘babble’ as they develop speech and can be slower to begin to speak clearly.
• We are also still dealing with the effects of the Covid-19 lockdowns, which had a significant negative impact on speech and language development in children and exacerbated communication challenges.

The intent laid out in the Curriculum and Assessment Review to formalise the acquisition of these oracy skills into a curriculum is good practice that many schools and academies already have in place, having reacted independently to the lack of speaking and listening skills that their pupils enter into school with.

Oracy Cambridge welcome the introduction of an oracy framework as an important step toward recognising oracy as ‘essential not only for academic success, but also for participation in society and the world of work’.

To accompany this blog, I have also created a free resource that highlights seven essential tips for encouraging oracy opportunity in the classroom, which you can download here.

How Does Oracy Link to Safeguarding?

The importance of this Oracy curriculum goes beyond Oracy Cambridge’s worthy point, as it is vital that every child has a voice and can be heard.

We teach our children, from the youngest to the eldest, through a clear and well-developed safeguarding curriculum, how to keep themselves safe and protect themselves from the dangers present in different spheres of their lives.

Key to this is using their voice to speak up and report anything that concerns them– but without the agency to speak for themselves and have their voice and thoughts heard and valued, how are they able to do this?

It is crucial that we teach our children the power they have in speaking up for themselves and empower them to communicate their feelings and desires.

Why Has This Link Not Been Made Earlier?

In Safeguarding teaching, the power of using your voice has been recognised for a long time – think about ‘circle time’ when all children have a turn in sharing their thoughts and opinions.

The inclusion of a new Oracy curriculum, as recommended by the Curriculum and Assessment Review, shines a spotlight onto this topic that has had little official mention up to now, and will allow schools to build upon their firm safeguarding foundations by ensuring all pupils can use their voice to make their feelings known.

Summary

In summary, there can only be positives to be taken from a new focus on the explicit teaching of oracy – and equipping pupils with the confidence to clearly share their opinions with others will ensure schools, in the words of the review, ‘equip young people for a world that is changing quickly’.

At SFE, we aim to help settings improve their practice by offering clear advice and practical resources to help implement these recommendations.

Check back with us regularly, and as the recommendations from the Curriculum and Assessment Review move forwards, we will continue to post blogs and resources to help implement these in your settings.

If you need any more support or would like us to audit the safeguarding provision in your setting and offer advice to further develop best practice, please contact us at safeguarding@servicesforeducation.co.uk

If you found this blog useful, you may also be interested in reading the following blogs:

Government consultation on children’s social media use: will it protect young people’s wellbeing and ensure safer online experiences?

By Claire Steele

02
Feb

Restrictive interventions, including use of reasonable force, in schools, April 2026: Is Your School Ready?

By Claire Steele

30
Jan

The Recent Curriculum and Assessment Review – A Safeguarding Perspective

Education Adviser, Emma Mudge, discusses the key messages linked to safeguarding in The Curriculum and...

05
Dec

Free Resource: Oracy Opportunities in the Classroom

Created by experienced former DSLs, this resource highlights seven essential tips for embedding oracy into daily classroom practice. By encouraging regular opportunities for spoken language, you are equipping pupils with the communication tools they need to express concerns and navigate complex social interactions.

  About the Author

With over 20 years of experience in primary education, Claire Steele is a respected and committed school leader who has worked across a diverse range of schools and multi-academy trusts. Her previous roles include Assistant Principal, Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), and Senior Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead. She has also worked extensively with partners to support the delivery of a wide range of National Professional Qualifications (NPQs).

Claire is deeply passionate about creating safe, inclusive, and nurturing school environments, where the wellbeing of pupils is at the heart of practice. She brings her extensive knowledge, dedication, and enthusiasm to Services For Education, supporting schools in embedding effective and compassionate safeguarding practices at every level.

Working as part of our team of advisers, Claire delivers high-quality, comprehensive safeguarding training and conducts thorough safeguarding audits in schools. She also champions SEND and equality, ensuring these values are central to all aspects of her work.